What Really Happened
by mepariseau
Summary: Takes place after September 18th. Contains spoilers on the LuRe ending. But this is What Really Happened
1. What Really Happened

**Takes place on September 18th. LuRe ending spoilers are mentioned. However this is What Really Happened**

When Luke woke up, he didn't know where he was. His head wouldn't stop pounding. He could feel each heart beat as shooting pains throughout his head. He was afraid that if he opened his eyes it would only get worse. It felt like he was having the worst hangover in his life. He opened his eyes and moaned. There was too much light in the room. It only took a few seconds to realize that he was in a hospital bed. Why he did not know. He then saw his best friend Casey sitting in the chair next to his bed.

"Luke, you're awake."

"Always stating the obvious, aren't you Case?" Luke's mouth felt dry and he looked around for water, but did not see any.

"Can you get me some water and tell me how I ended up here?"

"I don't think that you are supposed to have any. Let me go tell that doctor of yours that you are awake"

At the mention of the word "doctor", Luke remembered everything. The train accident, and Reid dying. The pain became overwhelming and the tears flowed. Luke grabbed for Casey arm. "No, wait. Don't go. I don't want to be left alone. Please … stay."

"That's what he told me. 'If you ever want to make attempt number two with that blonde of yours, don't even think about leaving Luke alone.' I don't know what you see in him Luke, but he is the rudest person I have ever met. "

It dawned on Luke that the reason he didn't remember what happened, must have been because he had been drinking. It must have been one hell of a drinking binge for him to have blacked out and landed himself in the last place he wanted to be, Memorial. And he was even in the Neuro Wing too. Everything around him reminded him of Reid.

"Casey, tell me the truth. How bad is it? Is my kidney going to be alright? I know it was stupid to take that first drink, but with Reid gone …."

"Luke, there was an accident. You…"

"I remember the accident! You don't need to remind me of that. Reid is gone. I can't forget that, although I wish I could. I love Reid, you know. I don't want to ever let him go. I won't let him go!" The anger faded and the devastation of his loss took over. He sobbed. Casey not knowing what else to do, put his arms around his best friend and let him cry.

"Luke, it's going to be OK. Everyone was worried at first, even The Doctor. We all thought the staff would go out on strike to get away from his wrath. You know, he has always been hard to work for, but since you became his patient, everybody has been saying 'Another day, another hell'. He was afraid that you might have some memory loss, but it looks like that is not the case."

The door opened and Luke could not believe his eyes. There was Reid, in those blue scrubs that he loved. Reid looked so handsome.

"Reid" Luke whispered.

Luke pulled away from Casey. "You better go get help now. I am seeing things that can't possibly be here"

"Sure Luke. I'll go get him for you." Casey stood up, he looked surprised as he looked in Reid direction.

"Mr. Hughes, I've got it. If you hurry you might still get to play house with that blonde"

Casey didn't say anything back. Of course, that was because Casey couldn't see Reid. Reid was figment of Luke's imagination. Casey did close the door on his way out. At least, Luke could talk to Reid without everyone thinking that he had gone crazy.

"Reid, I can't believe you are here. I love you and you promised me you'd never leave, but you did. You left me here alone"

"Wasn't that Hughes kid with you when you woke up? I told him not to leave you alone, that I'd be back soon. It was such a simple task that I thought even that idiot of a best friend you have could do it."

"No Reid. That's not what I meant. Casey was here when I woke. It is you that was gone. "

"Oh, well. That's good. I did not want to leave you alone. But there was an emergency and they needed all the doctors. Hughes said that he would stay with you and that he would call if you woke up. So I left him here. I was worried Luke. I told you to take care of yourself. I love you, Luke and it would tear me up if anything happened to you" Reid sat down on the bed. Luke was surprised that he felt the bed move when Reid sat down. His imagination must be working on overtime. Luke smiled, because Reid was still babbling and he loved it when Reid babbled.

"Reid, I will be OK. In time … I guess. It is just that it hurts so much. "

"What hurts? Your head? Your Ribs? Tell me Luke"

"Always the doctor, even in my dreams. I don't mean my head, although it does hurt. I mean loosing you hurts too much. I don't know what I am going to do without you … "

"Luke what are you talking about? You haven't lost me. I'm not going anywhere. When have you ever known me to do something half way. I told you that if I were to fall in love with you then I would want the whole enchilada. Well it happened. The great Doctor Oliver fell for the kid with a silver spoon who blackmailed him into coming to hell."

"Reid, I know you are just a figment of my imagination. You died after the train hit your car. I scattered your ashes over Snyder Pond. I remember all of that. I don't know why I am seeing you here now"

At first Reid was speechless. "Luke I don't think denying that I am dead would convince you, would it? But maybe this will" Reid reached out and put both hands on Luke's face and kissed him like he did that first time in Dallas. The look on Luke's face when Reid let go was the same as it was then too.

"You kissed me."

"Yes, Mr. Snyder. I kissed you."

"But you're dead. You can't kiss me."

"Luke, don't be an idiot. I am not dead. I was not hit by a train. Where you came up with that ridiculous idea... "

"You're not dead." Luke was smiling.

"That right Luke, I am not dead. You on the other hand, came pretty close to dying on me. "

Luke reached up and felt the bandages around his head. "What happened?"

"From what Noah told me, some kid left a toy car on the stairs at his apartment. You stepped on it and fell down the stairs. You broke a couple of ribs and hit your head. You were bleeding in your brain, so I had to operate to drain the blood and reduce the swelling. You have been in a coma since the operation two weeks ago. At first, Bob wasn't going to let me operate on you, but I insisted that you deserved the best and the best was me. Now Luke, I may love the brain, but I don't ever want to see yours again!"

"You are the best, Reid. The best man for me. " Luke pulled Reid towards him so that Reid was half onto top of him. Luke moved his face toward Reid. When Luke's lips touched Reid's, he felt himself start to melt. He might not be dead, but he most definitely was in heaven.

**Next time … It's time for Luke to go home, so why does he want to stay in the hospital?**


	2. You're Not All That

**Two weeks later, Luke was still in Memorial. This was the day that he was going to be discharged, but did he really want to go home?**

Luke was still having a difficult time understanding what had happened to him. He had lost two weeks of his life. Well actually more than that since he couldn't remember the weeks before the accident either. Most of the time he couldn't tell which memories he had that were real and which ones came from the coma. He was so frustrated.

Reid told him last night that if the CT scan came back normal then he would be released today. But he didn't want to be released. He didn't want to go back home where he was alone. Being in the hospital had its perks. Reid came by all the time to check in on him. And when Reid was done with work, he wouldn't leave Luke's side.

The hospital room door opened. Luke looked up and hoped that it was Reid stopping by for another one of his visits. Maybe this time he could convince Reid to stay for more than a kiss or two.

"Hi, Sweetie. How are you feeling today?" Lily Walsh asked as she walked over to Luke's bed and gave him a kiss on his forehead. Luke loved his mother, but there were times when he wished she wasn't around as much.

"Mom, I'm fine. Just like I said I was yesterday when you asked me the same question." Luke tried to keep his frustration out of his voice. However the look on Lily's face showed that he had hurt his mother yet again. It seemed like he was angry all the time and he took it out on her. Lily always treated Luke like a child and Luke hated that.

"Look, Mom. I get it that you are still worried about me, but Reid is taking great care of me. Even you admitted that you were glad that Reid was here when I had the accident. And he wouldn't be considering letting me go today, if there was still something seriously wrong." Luke didn't think that he would ever get through to his mother that he was an adult and did not need her to baby him. He should never have moved back in with Lily last year when they thought Holden had died. But that is who he is, always helping others.

"Luke, it is a mother's job to worry about her children, no matter how old they get." Lily smiled at her son. She had almost lost him again. How many times over the years had Luke's life been in danger? She had lost track of the number, because to count them would only make her worry more. Her biggest fear was that one of these times his luck was going to run out and she would lose him for good. That was the big reason why she found it so hard to let him go.

"What time are you getting out of here?"

"I am still waiting on the results of the CT scan. Once Reid gets those, then I can go home. "

Luke bit his lower lip to try to keep it and his voice from trembling. He needed to ask a favor of Lily and he knew that she would not want to do it. It had been an ongoing argument between then lately.

"Mom, if you want to do something for me, then tell Noah to call me or come by and see me. Reid says that the swelling has gone down, so I should have regained my memory by now. But I haven't. I remember reading about how amnesia can be triggered by not only a head injury, but also because of something traumatic that you want to forget happened. And since Noah was the last person I saw before the accident then maybe my lack of memory has to do with something that happened with him." Luke tried not to sound desperate, but he was starting to feel that he would never regain his memory.

"Dr. Oliver told us not to try to force your memories back. That we could cause more harm than good." Lily hated not being able to tell Luke everything. But Dr. Oliver insisted that Luke remember on his own.

"Not knowing the truth is causing more harm! Why can't anyone see that?" This time Luke did not even try to hide his anger at his brain holding his memories hostage.

"Luke, this is not good for you…"

Luke interrupted Lily. Still angry, he raised his voice "Not good for me? How could YOU know what is not good for me? I have been lying in this hospital bed for days, wondering what happened. There are still times when I wake up, and I think that Reid is dead. That I forget that it didn't happen that way. My mind keeps playing tricks on me and I need it to stop! I need to remember!"

The alarm on the machine that Luke was still hooked up to went off. His heart rate had climbed and his blood pressure had skyrocketed.

"Luke you need to calm down." Lily tried to touch the top of Luke's head, but he brushed her hand away.

"I'll calm down after I talk to Noah. I am beginning to think that something happened to him and that is why you won't let me to talk to him. "

The door flew open and Reid rushed in. No scrubs today. But he still looked hot in the white lab coat and jeans. Reid looked worried, but at the moment Luke didn't really care. Reid rushed to Luke's side and looked up at the monitor. Then back at Luke before he silenced the alarm.

"Mr. Snyder, I believe I told you that you need to stay calm. You can't keep setting the alarm off, just to see me." Reid smiled at Luke. And Luke thought he saw Reid wink at him. Reid seemed know just what to do to calm Luke down. Sometimes, like this time, it only took a look and a 'Mr. Snyder'.

"Reid, I did not…"

"Now what are the rules again?" Reid wouldn't let Luke finish.

"Reid …" Reid gave Luke a stern look as he cleared his throat. Luke gave in to Reid. When Reid was here as Luke's doctor, then he was to address him as Dr. Oliver. Reid did not like blurring the line between being Luke's doctor and being Luke's boyfriend. But every day, Luke would try to flirt with him when Reid was in doctor mode.

"Dr Oliver. I did not set off the alarm just to see you. You're not all that, you know." Luke smiled at him and glanced up into Reid eyes when he spoke. He wondered if Reid remembered when he spoke those very words to Luke after Noah's surgery.

* * *

_Luke was sitting next to Noah on the hospital bed when Reid walked in the door. _

"_I need to take a look at him."_

"_Sorry." Luke got up and moved towards the door while Reid went over to Noah. _

"_You can stay. It's fine" Luke turned back around and was facing Reid. _

_As Reid was checking Noah's vitals, Luke started talking. "Look doctor … about earlier."_

"_You don't need to say anything about it." Luke moved closer to Reid until he was standing beside him._

"_No, I do… I know that you would never intentionally hurt a patient, no matter what was happening in your personal life. You can separate that and your work better than anyone I have ever seen."_

"_Probably because for most of my career, I haven't had a personal life." Reid smiled as he spoke and glanced up at Luke._

"_And I know that you would never do anything to hurt Noah. No matter what your feelings were."_

"_You're not all that, Mr. Snyder." They both smiled at that. Reid definitely had a way with words. _

" _I guess I'm not… He was the first person I was ever in love with." Luke tried to explain what he was feeling. _

"_One's not such a low number."_

"_And I never thought that I would be with anyone except him."_

"_That explains … a lot." Reid looked like he understood, but Luke still wasn't sure that he did. _

"_So … yeah … about earlier"_

"_You don't have to say anything about it. I get it Luke."_

* * *

So while that wasn't exactly a happy memory, Luke did at least know it was a real memory, because Reid and Luke had been reminiscing about their time together every night to see if it would help Luke remember.

"Luke, please remember to stay calm. I don't want to have to keep you here another night if I don't have to." But that was exactly what Luke wanted. He wanted to stay where he would be close to Reid.

"So you got the results?" Lily asked Reid.

"Yes, Ms Walsh. I got the results. Luke, your CT scan was normal. The swelling is gone. You will still have some headaches as your brain continues to heal. But you can go home tonight. " Reid was smiling. He was going to get to take Luke home tonight. No more sitting next to him on the hospital bed, or falling asleep sitting in the chair next to Luke's bed because he didn't want to leave him alone. They would be at home.

Luke frowned. Why did Reid look so happy to get rid of him? Was he that much of a burden to him? There was no way that Luke could look into Reid's blue eyes and lie to him. So Luke glanced down at his hands before speaking.

"I can't wait to get out here. The hospital food leaves a lot to be desired." Luke's voice was devoid of any emotion.

Now Reid was frowning. He thought that Luke would be happy to go home, but instead it looked like he wanted to stay here.

"Ms Walsh, can I have a word with you outside? Luke, I'll be back with your discharge papers and then I'll take you home."

Reid didn't wait for a response from either Luke or Lily. Reid grabbed Lily's arm and escorted her out of the room. Reid made sure that the door was shut and they were across the hall before asking.

"What the hell, was going on in there? Were you trying to give Luke a relapse? Are you that much of an idiot that you can't follow simple instructions? I know that you don't like me and that you wish that Luke was still with Noah. But seeing as that I am the best neurosurgeon in the world, you could show me the respect that I at least know what I am doing. " Reid was trying not to raise his voice too loud because he did not want Luke to accidentally over hear him arguing with his mother.

"No, you listen to me, Dr Oliver! I have continued to do what you ask, but Luke knows something is wrong. He wants to talk to Noah and you have given explicit orders that no one is to help Luke contact him. You said that when Luke finds out about Noah, that it would have devastating results. Well you don't know my son as well as you seem to think. He is stronger than you believe. He can handle hearing about what happened to Noah. "

"Seriously, Ms Walsh? Luke can handle hearing about Noah? When Noah is probably the entire reason why Luke can't remember the last month! There must be a loose wire in your pretty little brain. Want me to take a look at it for you? "

"You are insufferable."

"Must be why your son loves me so much" Reid couldn't help but rub in it Lily's face that Luke choose him. Lily stormed away. She never could stand toe to toe with Reid for very long, unlike her son.

Reid was getting very angry. He knew that when the time was right Luke would remember what happened with Noah. It was then and only then, that Luke's brain would be able to handle the knowledge. But if instead, the knowledge was forced on Luke, the consequences could be tragic. He might block out all memories of Noah and go back to a time before he had ever even met the brunette. That would mean that he would forget Reid completely and not just their last month together. A month that was the happiest of Reid's life, but one that Luke had forgotten. Each day that Luke didn't remember, was another day in hell for Reid. Reid couldn't talk to him about how magical their first time together was or how much he enjoyed their walks in the park and the dinners for two with Luke. And then there were the times when they watched Jacob. Luke would say something about how great a dad Reid would be and Reid would say that Luke would be the great one.

Reid had made sure that Luke did not realize how hard this had been on him. Reid wanted HIS Luke back. The Luke that would stand up to him. The Luke that would tell him to be nice to the nurses. The Luke that would make Reid learn the nurses' real names, not just know them by the nicknames that he gave them, like 'the one that leaks'. The Luke that flirted with him on any occasion. And most importantly, the Luke that remembered that they lived together.

**Next time … Katie comes to see Reid and brings a present. **


	3. Pillows

**CHAPTER THREE - PILLOWS**

**For Jani … here is the next chapter. Enjoy!**

Reid was heading back to Luke's room when he saw Katie Peretti Snyder , his best friend and roommate, coming down the hall. Over the past month they had got even closer than before as they both had come close to losing the men that they loved. Chris Hughes almost died due to his stupidity in waiting so long to get treatment for his heart condition. Luke was seriously injured because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Luke's heart was so big that he constantly wanted to help others and that is why he went to Noah's that day. Noah had needed help and Luke went.

Luke can't remember what happened that day but it was a day that Reid wished he could forget. When Reid found out that Luke had been hurt, he had been on his way back from Bay City with Chris's new heart. He couldn't get back fast enough. Reid didn't know how he would have made it through these weeks since Luke's accident without Katie's help.

Katie came up to Reid and gave him a hug.

"Are you taking Luke home today?'

"Why do you insist on giving me a hug in the middle of the hospital? I don't do hugs, remember? It's bad for my reputation." The smile on Reid's face told otherwise. He had found that he actually liked hugs. He liked a lot of new things and that was all because of Luke.

"Reid, your reputation has already been compromised beyond repair. Everyone knows how much you love Luke, and since he is everybody's darling, they love you too." Katie patted his arm and smiled. She led him over to a waiting area where they sat down.

"Tell me what is wrong. I thought that you would happy today."

"Katie, Luke still doesn't remember. I keep mentioning that I am taking him home and I hope that he will put it together and remember that we live together. But he hasn't. He thinks that he is going back to his mother's." Reid didn't want to look at Katie. She had a way of seeing right through him.

"And you are hurting …" Katie put her hand under Reid's chin and brought his head up so that she could look into his eyes.

"And I am hurting, yes. There I said it." Reid hated being vulnerable. He preferred to use arrogance to keep people away. But once someone got through that barrier, they found a man who had a huge heart. When Reid loves someone, he loves them completely. He doesn't hold anything back.

"And …" Katie wasn't going to give up. Reid pretended not to understand her. Not that that was going to stop her. So he decided to try and distract her instead.

"How's Doogie doing? I heard that he was trying to get Bob to talk me into letting him come back to work. He doesn't learn very quickly does he?"

"Reid." Katie gave her best stern tone. "Don't change the subject. We are talking about you right now, not me. "

"We are talking about me. I am Chief of Staff now and I am trying to find out if the head of the Pediatric Department is pushing himself too hard. His complete disregard to his own life has caused concern on the board about if he is even capable of running a department."

"That's not what is bothering you. Here, I even brought your favorite pillow. I thought it might make you feel better to hold onto it. " Sure enough Katie pulled out a pillow that was usually seen on her sofa from the bag she was carrying. It was the one that Reid always wrapped his arms around when he was upset about Luke. Reid threw his head back and laughed. Reid didn't laugh often these days, so everyone in the nurses' station turned to look at Dr. Oliver. However since Katie had succeeded in lighting his mood, he didn't even notice. And even if he had he wouldn't have cared that the nurses were all smiling.

"Katie, you shouldn't have. You know how to pull out the big guns, don't you?" After a short pause, Reid spoke again. This time there was still a touch of sadness in his voice, but it wasn't as bad as it was earlier.

"It's just hard watching Luke go through all this and him not remembering US. He says he loves me, but I feel like it isn't the same as before. I mean, we moved in together, and you know how hard that was for me. Before Luke, I never thought I would live with someone. I was so scared when I asked him to move in together. I mean we hadn't even slept together yet and there I was telling him that I wanted to spend my life with him and only him. I was going on and on and you know what he said? He said 'I love it when you babble' and gave me one of those drop dead gorgeous smiles of his. He then kissed me and said,' I'll only move in if I get to decorate. You maybe a brilliant doctor but you are terrible at that.' He laughed and kissed me again. Then it was 'My god, how am I going to tell my mother?' We laughed together at the thought of what Lily might do." Katie could see that there were tears in Reid's eyes.

"I know Luke loves you, Reid. Just trust in that and everything will be fine. Besides, he might remember when he sees the house. So when are you taking him home?"

"I was just taking him his discharge papers. As soon as he signs them I can take him home. "

"Well don't let me keep you waiting. Go take that adorable man of yours home. I also recommend showing him how much you love him. " Katie then hugged Reid and kissed him on the cheek.

"Here, you might want your pillow back." Reid tried to give the pillow back but Katie would not take it.

"I bought some different ones. These are too attached to you." Katie gave him the bag that contained the matching pillow to the one he was holding. "I got to go see Chris now. Give Luke my love." And with that, Katie was off leaving Reid speechless.

Reid shook his head and smiled. He couldn't put it off any longer. It was time to take Luke home.

**Next time … Reid shows Luke their home, but does Luke remember?**


	4. Magic And Fireworks

**CHAPTER FOUR – MAGIC AND FIREWORKS**

**Since I could not stop writing when I finished Chapter Three , this one is also for Jani**

"Reid where are we?" Luke asked, very confused.

Reid had just pulled into the drive way at the house that they had bought together just two months before. Reid took a deep breath. "This is where you are going to do your recovering. I can take care of you here at night, and your friend Allison and your other favorite nurse, I think her name is Gretchen, have offered to stop by and check on you during the day. "

"You let me think that you were taking me back to my place, when you had this all planned. I never knew that you were that into surprises. And when did you have the time to find this place? You were always at the hospital." It warmed Reid's heart to see Luke so happy.

"Well, I had a little help. " Reid left it a little vague and was still hoping that Luke would remember something.

They got out of the car and walked up to the door holding hands. Luke had a déjà vu moment, like he had done this before. Reid opened the door and as they walked in, Luke knew that he had been here before. Then when Luke saw the living room, and the huge picture of fireworks hanging above the fireplace, he felt the room start to spin.

"Magic and Fireworks" Luke whispered.

"What did you say?" Reid turned to Luke and looked into his eyes. Luke was smiling,

"Magic and Fireworks!" Luke grabbed Reid's face and kissed him. "I remember. Magic and Fireworks!" Luke was now so excited he couldn't contain his happiness.

" I told you that was how making love to you felt like after the first time we made love here in our home. It was Magic and Fireworks. The next day you went out and bought the biggest picture you could find of fireworks. You said that you bought so that we would never forget what we meant to each other. That we would always have our 'Magic and Fireworks'." And then Luke's face fell. Because he knew that he had done just that. Forgot moving in here, forgot making love to Reid, forgot so much of the happiness that they had here.

"Luke. But you did remember. As soon as you saw that picture. You remembered. " Reid was smiling now. He pulled Luke to him and kissed him. They sat down on the couch. Reid had his arm around Luke and Luke's head was resting on Reid's chest.

"What else to you remember, Luke?" Luke smiled as he started talking about their first night here.

_Luke was there inside his new home. He still couldn't believe that they actually bought this house together. And to make it even more special, this was going to be their first night together. Luke had been ready for a while now to take the next step, but when Reid asked him to live together, he knew that the perfect time would be tonight, their first night in their new home. He did not know how much longer he could hold back, so he hired all those people to get the house ready for them. Of course he didn't tell Reid that. He wanted to surprise him. Luke knew that Reid was frustrated with how slow he had wanted to take things. Luke knew that he was old fashioned in wanting to wait. However he had seen so many couples here in Oakdale that did not wait and look what happened to them. They were only together for a short time before they broke up or got divorced. Then they would take up with someone else only to repeat that same pattern. Luke did not want that. He wanted something that would last forever. And he believed that Reid was his forever love. That was something that was worth waiting for. _

_Reid should be home anytime now. Luke looked over the house one last time. He wanted to make sure that everything was perfect. He walked up the stairs to the master bedroom. He had already lit the candles. And the bed was his masterpiece. He had laid out rose petals in a heart shape on the bed. And there was a trail of them that led from the bed to the front door. And on the nightstand next to Reid's side of the bed was a sandwich that he made Reid. Reid was always eating and once Luke got Reid in the bedroom he wasn't planning on letting him out anytime soon. _

_Luke headed back downstairs to wait for what he hoped wouldn't be too much longer. Luke heard the car door shut and then the front door opened. Luke walked up to Reid and put his arms around him. _

"_Surprise!" Luke said. Reid looked at Luke and saw he was only wearing a towel. _

"_Where is everybody? I thought you said that we were having some kind of party to celebrate our home."_

"_We are. I guess I forgot to mention that there are only two guests invited. And that the party is in the bedroom. Oh and clothing is optional." At that Luke dropped his towel and was standing before Reid in nothing. _

"_Dr. Oliver, would you like an escort upstairs?" Reid couldn't catch his breath. Reid took Luke in from head to toe. He could see just how much Luke wanted him. He could even feel himself getting hard just looking at Luke. _

" _Are you sure? I don't think that I will be able to stop this time." Reid voice was hoarse. He couldn't believe that he was finally going to get to make love to Luke. _

"_Yes, I am sure. What better time to celebrate our love then our first night in our new home."_

"_In that case. Lead the way. Mr. Snyder. Lead the way."_

_Later that night, Luke and Reid were in bed. Luke had his head on Reid's chest listening to his heart beat while Reid was eating the sandwich that Luke had made all those hours earlier. That's when Luke said those words to Reid._

"_Magic and Fireworks. That is what I felt when we made love. Every nerve ending in my body cried out in pleasure when you touched me. I have never felt so complete then when we came together as one."_

**Next time …. Luke has a nightmare and Reid had a decision to make**

**It might be next weekend before I get the next chapter done. RL has a bad habit of getting in the way sometimes. **


	5. Nightmare

**CHAPTER FIVE – NIGHTMARE**

"_Luke, please … don't leave me. I need you. I love you!" Noah grabbed Luke's arm as he pleaded with him. _

"_How many times do I have to tell you? I am with Reid now. Did you become deaf when you got your eyesight back? I can't keep having this conversation with you. You need to move on." Luke was trying to be patient with Noah. Noah had broken up with him months before he started dating Reid. Luke knew that he shouldn't feel this way, but he still felt guilt over what happened. _

"_I know how wrong I was to push you away. I'll never do it again. Please Luke, give us another chance. I don't know what I would do without you." Luke couldn't help it. He still felt responsible for the pain that he saw in Noah's eyes. However he wasn't going to let that change his mind. _

"_Noah. I'm sorry, but I can't. I can't turn back the clock to last year before this all happened. I can't change that you pushed me away, time and time again. I can't change how much you hurt me by doing that. I can't change that you blamed me yet again for the bad things that happened in your life. I can't change the past. All we can do now is look to the future. I still want be friends. Can you do that?" Luke looked at Noah and saw that he still wasn't getting through to him. It made him sad that after everything they had been through they were back to this … All or nothing. _

"_No, Luke. I can't be just your friend. It hurts too much to see you and not be able to wrap my around you. It might be best that you go now." Noah didn't even try to put on a brave front. He wanted Luke to see his pain, to see his broken heart. _

"_Take care of yourself, Noah. I'll see you around" Luke went to give Noah a hug, but he backed away. Luke walked toward the door then turned back around to face Noah. _

"_I'll always love you. No matter what." And with that Luke walked out the door before the tears could fall from his eyes. He went down the hallway and then down the two flights of stairs. When Luke walked outside of Noah's building, he realized that he hadn't given Noah the letter that had arrived at the house. The return address was in LA. It had to be about the grant to make the film that Noah had applied for. He was probably anxiously waiting to hear back from them to see if he got it or not. Luke hoped that it was good news. That might take Noah's mind off of trying to get convince him to give them another try. Well there was nothing left to do, but to go back. _

_Luke walked up the stairs slowly. He dreaded seeing Noah again. He couldn't remember when the last time was that he actually looked forward to seeing Noah. He took his time and after a few minutes, he made it back to Noah's apartment, and knocked on the door._

* * *

"Noah!" Luke screamed and sat straight up in bed. His breathing was labored, his heart was beating rapidly and sweat was pouring off of him. Reid came fully awake instantly at the sound of Luke's scream. Reid reached out and put his arms around Luke. He pulled him close and held Luke tight and kissed the top of Luke's head.

"Another nightmare?" Reid asked. He already knew the answer. Luke had this nightmare every night. And every night he woke screaming Noah's name, but he couldn't remember why. Reid hated that he knew what Luke couldn't remember. That was all because Noah Mayer had told Reid everything the night of Luke's accident. Now every single night, when he held Luke he wondered if he was doing the right thing in not telling Luke about Noah.

"Shhh, Baby. I'm here" Reid whispered into Luke's ear, trying to calm him down.

"Everything is going to be okay." Reid continued to speak at a slow steady pace. Reid lay back down and pulled Luke down with him. He turned Luke around so that Luke's head was on Reid's chest tucked under his chin. Reid's right arm was wrapped around Luke and Reid's left hand was slowly stroking Luke's head and at times his fingers would run through Luke's hair.

"Reid, why can't I remember? I know something bad happened. I can feel that much." Every night they had this same conversation. Reid could feel Luke's tears fall onto his chest. It broke Reid's heart each night when Luke cried himself back to sleep. He felt helpless because he could not take Luke's pain away.

"Baby, when you mind is ready it will remember. I promise. " Reid had to try hard not to let any doubt into his voice. He wasn't all that optimistic that Luke would remember. Or if he did, that Luke wouldn't blame himself for what happened. It wasn't Luke's fault, but the compassionate heart that was Luke's might not believe that.

Reid held Luke and continued to comfort him until Luke fell back asleep. Reid made a decision as Luke slept. He would have to find a way to let Noah talk to Luke. Hearing Noah's voice might be the only way to help Luke remember. The only problem with that was that remembering would cause Luke even more pain.

* * *

The alarm started buzzing at 05:30. Reid turned it off before it could disturb Luke. Usually once Luke fell back asleep after his nightmare, he slept so soundly that the alarm didn't wake him up.

Reid kissed the top of Luke's head before getting out of bed. He turned and watched as Luke rolled over onto Reid's side of the bed. He grabbed a towel out of the linen closet in the master bathroom. One of the perks of having your own place was that he didn't have to put any pants on to go to the bathroom or to even grab a midnight snack. He smiled as he remembered when Luke found out that Reid did not sleep with any clothes on, not even his boxers. For Luke growing up in a large household, he was used to making sure that if he had to get up in the middle of the night, he was wearing shorts in case one of the other family members were also roaming the halls. So while it had taken some coaxing on Reid's part, Luke was now joining him in bed without the restraint of clothing.

Reid had to be up at Memorial Hospital for morning rounds by 07:00. As much as Reid loved being a doctor, he hated mornings. The only way he could function in the morning was to stick to his routine. He couldn't deviate from it, or his day would go to hell. First was the shower. He was in and out as quick as possible. He didn't waste time in the shower in the mornings. Now maybe in the afternoon or evening, shower time could turn into playtime with Luke. Reid smiled in memory of some of showers that he had taken with Luke.

Next Reid brushed his teeth. He took his tooth brush out of the left side of the holder and when he was done it went back into the left and the brush also had to face left. Everything had its place. Although there were times when Luke moved it around, just to see what Reid would do. Luke thought it was cute the way Reid would get OCD about his things.

Today he dressed in his black jeans and blue shirt. He kissed Luke goodbye. Luke was a little groggy, but was awake enough to say "I love you". Reid was out the door by 06:00. He stopped at Al's to pick up breakfast and then over to Java for his coffee, a caramel latte with whipped cream and an extra shot. If he didn't get his coffee then he would be snarkier than normal. Or anyway he would have been before Luke. He was still sarcastic, but not like when he first came to Oakdale. And lately it was only with Luke, Hank and Doogie. Well now that he thought about it, he was only that way around Luke. He hadn't seen Hank much since he married Barbara Ryan and Doogie was still recovering from his heart transplant. He smiled to himself when he realized just how much a certain Mr. Luke Snyder had changed his life.

Reid only said "Are you an idiot?" one time during rounds. The other doctors were finally getting better at their jobs. Reid went to his office. He picked up the phone and dialed a number that he had dialed every day since Luke's accident.

"The Oaks, how many I direct your call?"

"Dr. Paul Lee." Reid said.

"Dr. Lee's office, how many I help you?"

"This is Dr. Reid Oliver from Memorial Hospital. I need to speak to Dr. Lee immediately. "

"I am sorry Dr. Oliver, but Dr. Lee is with a patient right now. Can I take a message and I'll have him call you back?"

"Tell him I need to speak to him about a patient of his, a Noah Mayer. He has my number."

**Next time … Luke's trip down memory lane has an unforeseen consequence. **


	6. The Journal

**CHAPTER SIX – THE JOURNAL**

**That same morning at the Oliver-Snyder Residence **

Luke opened up his laptop on his desk at home. For a few minutes all he did was stare at a blank screen. He couldn't put it off any longer. He turned it on and keyed in his password. During the night when Reid had been holding him, he came up with the idea that the key to his memories might be in his journals. All he had to do was read them.

Back when Noah first broke up with him, he had read something out of them daily. Luke wanted to remember all the good times they had together. But once Luke decided that he wanted Reid, he hadn't even opened the folder that he named "Nuke". He did not want to read them. However now he was just hoping that something that he had written would spark one of those memories that were missing.

Each folder was labeled by the month and year that he wrote in it. Now all Luke needed to do was choose which one to start with. That's when he saw there was a folder labeled August 2010 and September 2010. Why would he have written in his "Nuke Journal" when he was living with Reid?

After debating with himself, Luke opened the folder marked August 2010. There was only one entry and that was dated Aug 17th, just a few days after Luke and Reid had moved in together. It had been just the day before that had Luke had found out that Reid had been treating Chris Hughes for the infection that had damaged his heart. If he hoped to find answers, then this might be it. Luke opened the file and started to read.

* * *

_August 17,2010_

_I never really expected to be writing in these journals again, but I thought that this would be more appropriate here than in my LuRe Journal since this is about Noah. _

_Today Noah called me and said that he had to see me. He had important news that could not wait and that I needed to know about. I asked him what it was. He was being his typical self and refused to tell me over the phone. I thought that he was using this as an excuse to be able to see me. I did not think that there really was anything that I needed to know._

_It was getting harder for me every time I would see Noah. Everything he did and said was just another way of him trying to convince me that I made a mistake with Reid. He still blames Reid for "stealing" me away from him. He never remembers that it was his decision to break up with me. And he never remembers that it was months after we broke up before I even kissed Reid. Noah keeps saying that he has changed, but I just don't see it. However on the off chance that he really did have something important to tell me, I agreed to meet him at Java. He sounded disappointed in the location that I chose, it was almost as if he wanted to meet me someplace where we could be alone._

_Noah was already at Java by the time I got there. I sat down across from him at what we used to call "our" table. _

"_Luke, I don't know how to tell you this, but Reid is cheating on you." Noah couldn't even say Hi, before telling me what he wanted to see me about. _

"_What are you talking about?" I tried to keep the irritation out of my voice. I couldn't believe that Noah was going to play the 'your boyfriend is cheating on you' card to try to win me back. _

"_Luke, I'm sorry. I don't want you to be hurt, but I saw him at The Lakeview with his arm around another guy. They were getting into the elevator. It looked pretty intimate."Noah reached across the table to put his hand on mine. I wasn't quite convinced that Noah was telling me out of concern for me. It still felt like a way to try to get me back. _

"_What did this other man look like?" I asked, trying to sound like I didn't already know the answer to the question. _

_I knew it had to be Chris Hughes that Noah saw. Reid told me this morning that Chris had booked a room at The Lakeview for Reid to give him some shots. Chris wanted the privacy and The Lakeview was closer to the hospital then driving out to our home. I found out about Chris when we had gone out to dinner at Metro the other night and saw Reid giving Chris a shot in the men's room. I think that Chris was more embarrassed about me catching him and Reid with his pants down, then for me to find out he was sick. He swore me secrecy, just like Reid. While technically I did not have to keep the secret, I told him that I would honor his wish. Now that did not mean that I would not try to push him into getting additional help. _

"_About the same height as Reid, with dark brownish hair. A little bit heavier then Reid. He had his back to me, so I did not get a good look at his face." _

_It was definitely Chris, but I couldn't tell Noah that. He would then want to know why Chris and Reid were going into a hotel room together. _

"_Reid was supposed to have a meeting at The Lakeview, he must have seen some guy that needed help and was helping him to his room." I know that didn't exactly sound plausible, but I couldn't think of anything else to say. And I had to say something. _

"_Luke, are you serious? I know you are not that naïve. They had their arms around each other and were getting into an elevator. __Reid__ wouldn't just help out a stranger. You know that much." Noah actually sounded concerned about me. _

"_Noah, I don't believe Reid is cheating on me. We just moved in together and everything is good. There is a logical explanation for all of this and I promise I will talk to Reid about it tonight." _

"_Okay Luke. But promise me that if you are wrong, you will remember that I'm still here for you." I knew that in his own way, Noah was looking out for me. _

_We talked for a little bit more. He told me about how he was waiting to hear back about if he got the film grant in LA or not. He mentioned that when he applied, he wasn't sure where he would be living, so he used my mother's address. I told him that when a letter came, I would get it out to him. When we parted, I gave Noah a hug and thanked him for telling me what he saw. _

_I am at home, waiting for Reid get here. He will be upset when I tell him that Noah saw him and Chris. But when we tell Chris, this might be just what Chris needs to hear so that he will come clean and tell Katie and his parents. I hear Reid's car, so I will close for now. _

* * *

While Luke did not remember the conversation with Noah, he did remember talking to Reid about Noah seeing Chris. So the August entry didn't help much. However, maybe the September entry would be of better help. Luke was a little more nervous about opening that file. It was dated September 1st, just 2 days before the accident. Luke couldn't help but wonder what could have happened on that day that caused him to make a journal entry. He felt a little scared. His breathing quickened and he felt a hot flash coming on. As he went to click on the link, he felt like someone had his heart in a vise. He then tried to stand only to become nauseous and dizzy. Luke tried not to panic. Only one word came into his mind. Reid. He pulled his cell out to call him. It was a good thing that he had Reid on speed dial, because Luke did not think that he could have pushed more than one number on his phone.

"Better be important." Reid sounded like he normal snarky self.

"Reid" Luke barely got his name out, because he was having such a hard time breathing.

"Luke, what's wrong?" Luke could hear the worry in Reid's voice.

"I can't breathe and my chest hurts and can't stand up without feeling faint." Luke got all that out between breaths, but it wasn't easy.

"Stay calm, try to take slow deep breaths. I'm going to send an ambulance to pick you up. I'll be waiting for you in the ER." Reid used what Luke called his 'don't be an idiot' voice.

"Don't want to go to the hospital. Can't you just come home?" Reid knew how much Luke hated hospitals. He had had way too many stays in them. And the last one was only a few weeks ago. Reid walked up to the nurses' station and wrote out a quick note _'Send ambulance to 2222 Dallas Rd, possible heart attack'_

"Luke, baby. Do you trust that I know what I doing?" Reid spoke calmly into the phone.

"You are the uber doctor. See all, hear all, know all." Luke breathing was starting to get slower.

"That's right Luke. I have forgotten more medicine then most doctors ever learn. "

"You and your photographic memory." Luke smiled a little. Talking to Reid was helping him calm down and even though his heart was pounding and he was still in pain, at least he could breathe easier.

"Do you think that you can walk to the medicine cabinet?" Reid asked carefully. He did not want to panic Luke, but on the other hand if he was having a heart attack he needed to take an aspirin.

"I can try. What do I need to get?" Luke got up and made his way to the master bathroom. He was still dizzy, but he knew that if Reid wanted him to get something then it was important."Okay I'm here."

"I want you to take one aspirin. And then go lay down and wait for the ambulance to get there." As Luke was reaching for the bottle of aspirin it dawned on him what Reid had said, or rather what Reid hadn't said. Reid thought that he was having a heart attack. That's why he didn't want to take any chances and come home to see him first. Luke then opened the bottle open and took one. He started walking back to the living room, when he heard the sirens getting closer.

"I think that the paramedics are here. I need to go let them in." Luke opened the door and then sat down on the floor next to it to wait for them to get up to the house.

"Reid. Everything's going to be alright?" Luke sounded worried.

"Of course Luke. I'm on the case." Luke smiled at that. That was the Reid that he loved. The cocky, overly confidant, could do no wrong Reid.

"I love you." Luke said as the paramedics came in the door.

"I need you to hang up the phone, sir. Have them meet you at Memorial Hospital. " The first paramedic said to Luke.

"I have to go. You better be waiting with flowers and candy. That's the only way I'll agree to go for a ride with these people you sent to me." Luke teased Reid.

"I promise. You'll be all mine when they get you here." And with that Reid hung up the phone. He walked to the ER to wait for Luke to arrive.

"What was it with the town? Every time things are going good, something happens to turn it all upside down. It is almost like we are pawns in someone's game of chess. " Reid thought to himself. He just now realized that Oaklhell was living up to the nickname that he gave it.

**Next Time … What is wrong with Luke and does Reid change his mind about Noah? **


	7. The Confession

**CHAPTER SEVEN – THE CONFESSION **

**Later that day at Memorial Hospital, after Luke had been admitted for observation.**

"Luke, I need you to tell me what you were doing when you felt the attack come on. " Reid was standing beside Luke's bed with Luke's chart in his hands. He was trying to wear his "doctor" hat and not the "boyfriend" hat, but that was not working too well. His feelings kept getting in the way.

"I was sitting at my desk looking at some files on my laptop. " Luke really did not want to tell Reid what he was reading. Those journals contained his innermost thoughts and this was one thing that would really hurt if Reid made a snarky comment about him keeping a journal. Luke knew that Reid wouldn't intentionally say something to hurt him, but Reid had a way of saying things that hurt even when he didn't meant it that way.

"Foundation work or Grimaldi work? Not that you should to be doing any work. " Luke looked away from Reid and started biting his lower lip. Those actions told Reid that something else was going on here. Reid put down the chart, sat down on the bed and took Luke's hand.

"Baby, if you would be more comfortable with a different doctor, I'll find someone. I am only asking these questions, because I am trying to find out what happened to you. " Reid leaned over and gave Luke a quick kiss and waited to see if Luke would say anything. It took a minute or two before Luke spoke again.

"Not work." Reid raised an eyebrow at that. "I do try to follow my doctor's orders, even when I think he's wrong." Luke winked at him.

"If not work, then what were you doing that you feel guilty about?" Reid asked. He wanted to say, _'then what the hell do you think you were doing?_', but knew that this was not the time to show how upset and scared he had been.

"I don't feel guilty" Luke saw that Reid didn't believe him. He looked down as his cheeks turned red with embarrassment. "I don't, it's just that … I um … What the hell … I keep a journal. OK. I write down my thoughts, feelings, what all is happening here in Oakdale … some of the stories I could tell, you wouldn't believe. I thought if I read some of them, it might spark a memory." Luke looked up at Reid and waited for the 'are you an idiot' comment. Instead Reid surprised him, but what is new with that? Reid constantly surprised Luke.

"So when you were reading, you started to get the chest pain and hot flashes and everything else?" Reid asked gently. He was rubbing his thumb across the top of Luke's hand, trying to keep Luke calm. He did not want Luke to experience a relapse.

"No. It was um… when I went to open the entry I made on September 1st. Before I even opened it, I was doubled over in pain. That was when I called you." Luke saw Reid's face turn pale when he mentioned the date of September 1st. There was something about that date that must be important.

"Why that date? I am sure that there were others that you could have chosen to read?" Reid reached out and touched Luke's cheek. He wanted to comfort Luke.

"What happened on the 1st? I can tell you know something. What are you keeping from me?" With each question, Luke voice got louder. With Reid's hand on Luke cheek, he could feel Luke's skin getting warm and Luke's breathing was getting labored.

"I can't tell you Luke. We have been over this. You need to remember on your own, otherwise the consequences could be disastrous. What happened today was caused by your mind trying to protect you from reading that entry. I think I can safely say that what you experienced earlier today was a full blown panic attack, similar to what I experienced in the elevator when it got stuck and not a heart attack. We are still waiting for the blood work to come back to be sure. " Reid pulled Luke to him and held him. Using one hand to rub his back and the other was just resting on Luke head. Reid was still trying to keep Luke calm, but he was walking a tight rope here. Just mentioning the date had Luke getting worked up. He had to keep Luke from having another panic attack.

"Reid, please I need to remember. Please help me. " Luke pleaded with Reid. Reid hated when Luke felt helpless. Luke was so much stronger then he realized.

"I did have an idea, but after this, I am not sure how good of one it is. It might make matters worse instead of better." Luke pulled away and looked into Reid eyes. Reid could see hope shining through the tears.

"Nothing could be worse than this." Luke insisted.

"Don't be so sure about that. You could forget years of your life. You could forget US. Is that what you want?"Luke's eyes widen in fear at the thought he might forget Reid. He shook his head in answer to Reid's question. " No… Your mind is trying to protect you, so don't be an idiot and listen to it!"

"You know what it is that I can't remember. Don't you?"Luke accused Reid. He realized that for Reid to believe that he might lose years of memories, then he must know exactly what Luke forgot. It was terrifying to imagine what that could mean.

"Yes, Luke I do. " Reid admitted.

"Is it about us?" Luke's voice quivered. He did not think that he could take it if it was about them.

"No, Luke it isn't about us. Don't worry your gorgeous head about that. All I will say is that you asked me read your entry for September 1st." Reid reached out and rubbed the top of Luke's head and he saw a smile slowly form on Luke face. It still amazed Reid that this kid, no change that to young man, fell in love with him. He did not think that he deserved it, but he was very happy that it had happened.

"Why?" Luke asked.

"Luke don't do this."

"I have never asked anyone to read my journal, why would I ask you to?"

"I can't answer that."

"Can't or won't?

"Can't … you did not tell me why. Just asked me to read it. That day, I mean, not the whole thing. You know that I wouldn't read anything unless you asked me to. "

"It doesn't make sense. What could have happened that I would've done that?"

"You do trust me, right?"

"Yes."

"Then please try to relax. Try not to force the memories. You'll remember when the time is right and I'll be here with you when you do. I may forget you birthday and even probably our anniversary and I doubt I will ever bring you roses, because I am not that kind of guy, but I do love you, you idiot."

Reid's pager went off. He looked at the number and saw it was his office.

"Luke I need to go take this. I'll be back soon." Reid kissed Luke goodbye. However it was not a quick kiss. The instant Reid's lips touched Luke's sparks flew, and when Luke opened his mouth to let Reid's tongue in, time stopped. Their tongues dueled with each other. Luke bit Reid's lower lip and enticed a groan from the older man. Luke's hands were on Reid's chest, moving down his body needing to touch Reid. The kiss went on and on, until Reid's pager went off a second time. Reid pulled away, breathless, the way Luke always left him.

"Go on. I just have to get used to everybody wanting my man. And Reid … I love you too. " Luke smiled as Reid tried to use his lab coat to cover his reaction to Luke's kiss.

* * *

Reid went in to the Dr's Lounge on the floor that Luke was on and called his office. Ciera Lane, his COS secretary answered.

"What do you have for me, Ms Lane?"

"Dr. Oliver, you asked me to page you when Dr Lee called back. I can transfer the call to you."

"Do it already. I have a very busy schedule." Reid heard the beep that told him the call been transferred.

"Dr. Lee, I see you finally made some time to call me back. "

"Dr Oliver, what can I do for you today? This is not your usual day to discuss Mr. Mayer's progress."

"Is there any way that Noah Mayer could be released to come to Oakdale for a few hours? I have a patient here that Mr. Mayer might be able to help. "

"Dr Oliver, I am not sure that it would be a good idea for him to be out and alone. "

"He won't be alone. I would be with him the entire time. "

"I need to know who this patient of yours is and how you think Mr. Mayer can help."

"My patient is Luke Snyder. As you are aware, something happened between these two young men. Mr. Snyder ended up in a coma and when he woke, had no memory of the weeks leading up to the incident. After Mr. Mayer told me his side of the events, I convinced him that he needed to spend some time at your facility. Mr. Snyder is having nightmares and panic attacks because he can't remember. This is now jeopardizing his health and I believe the only way to help Mr. Snyder is for him to see and talk with Mr. Mayer. I give you my word that I will keep an eye on Mr. Mayer and make sure that nothing happens to him."

"I'll talk to Mr. Mayer and see what his feelings are on the matter. If he agrees then I will release him into your care, if not then you will have to find another way to help your patient. "

"I'll be there in an hour. I'm not taking No for an answer." Reid ended the call.

* * *

Two hours later. Reid parked his car in the Memorial Hospital parking lot. Noah Mayer was sitting in the passenger seat.

"Mr. Mayer. Before we go in, I need your word that you won't mention September 1st or the incident on the 3rd."

"Sure, Reid. I got it the first time. Whatever I do or say, I do not tell Luke that I tried to kill him. That I deliberately pushed him down those stairs."

**Next time … Luke and Noah talk, but will Luke remember? **


	8. Noah Arrives

**CHAPTER EIGHT - NOAH ARRIVES**

**Later that afternoon. **

Reid parked his car in the Memorial Hospital parking lot. Noah Mayer was sitting in the passenger seat.

"Mr. Mayer. Before we go in, I need your word that you won't mention September 1st or the incident on the 3rd."

"Sure, Reid. I got it the first time. Whatever I do or say, I do not tell Luke that I tried to kill him. That I deliberately pushed him down those stairs." Noah unbuckled his seat belt and got out of the car. He even slammed the car door shut. Reid got out of the car and grabbed Noah's arm before he could storm away.

"Mr. Mayer, you are not going to do either one of you any good if you go in there angry."

"No one asked you. It's my fault that he's in there and I can't even talk to him about it or tell him how sorry I am! I just wanted him to go away and leave me alone, so I pushed him. Seeing him at the bottom of the stairs broke me from the anger I was feeling about him interfering in my life. I screwed everything up and it almost cost Luke his life. " Noah broke away from Reid. He was feeling both angry and defeated.

"You're right. I'd vote you the biggest idiot in all of Oakdale. If there was an award for doing everything wrong, you would win hands down. But you have to put that behind you. The last thing he needs right now is another fight with you. You said you wanted to help Luke. Here's your chance. Man up and do what needs to be done." If it was up to Reid, Noah would never get anywhere close to Luke again. However as much as Reid hated it, Luke needed Noah right now.

"I am sorry, you know. About everything. About how I handled finding out about you and Luke. But most of all I am sorry about how I treated Luke. I'm angry at myself not you and Luke. I'll do what you asked. For what it's worth, you have my word." Noah held out his hand and waited to see if Reid would take it. Of course seeing the look in Reid's eyes, Reid was just as likely to punch him in the nose as to shake his hand.

After some consideration, Reid took Noah's hand, but instead of shaking it, he pulled Noah towards him. Reid's mouth was next to Noah's ear as he whispered "If you do anything to hurt Luke again, I'll kill you. And I mean that literally. With my extensive medical knowledge, no one would even suspect murder. Have I made myself clear, Mr. Mayer?" Noah's eyes opened wide as he listened to Reid's ice cold voice. There was no doubt in Noah's mind that Reid had meant every word that he said.

"Perfectly clear, Dr. Oliver." Noah swallowed and barely managed to keep any fear out of his voice. Reid released his hand and moved back away from him. Reid turned and walked towards the hospital's entrance, not even looking back to see if Noah was following him.

* * *

"Case, I have a proposition for you." Luke wasn't sure how Casey would take it, but he wanted to help out his friend.

"Dude, I won't be your beard again. It was crazy enough the first time, and yeah fun at times … but no not again. Why would you even need one? You're crazy about your doctor." Luke loved to tease Casey about the time when they pretended to be boyfriends. Casey used to pretend to hate it, but lately he had come to realize that it was more fun to play along.

"Not that kind of proposition."Luke said laughing. That was one thing that Casey Hughes, his best friend was best at, making him laugh.

"Well dude, now I'm hurt. You don't want me anymore? And here I always thought I was irresistible to you." Casey couldn't resist teasing Luke a little and he even noticed Luke blush. "Alright man, hit me with it."

"The Head of Security at the Foundation and World Wide is leaving at the end of his contract. I would like to recommend you for the job." Luke saw a look a surprise on Casey face. He hoped that his best friend would take the job. Casey deserved a break.

"Luke, dude. That's great of you, but I can't accept." The offer sounded perfect, but perfect always spelled trouble for Casey. With the way his life was going right now, he didn't need any more trouble.

"C'mon Case. You can do it. You would work with Harry Tompkins until the end of the year and learn all that you need to know. Hey if I can run the Foundation and Grimaldi Shipping, you can do this. It's a great opportunity. You would also have to work with Alex." Luke knew that his assistant and Casey didn't get along, but given time they might work things out. Stranger things have happened. Just look at what happened between him and Reid.

"Luke, man. Why would anyone want to give me the job? I just screw everything up that I touch. Like Ali." Casey walked over to look out the window that was next to Luke's bed.

"Case, I believe in you. You deserve this. You have a good work history with the hospital. You know how to handle yourself in a crisis. I think you would be great at it." Luke gave it another shot. He knew that this was something that Casey could be good at.

"Can I get back to you on this?" He knew that Luke wouldn't give up, but he didn't want to think about it right now. He needed some time.

"Yeah. Think about it. Talk it over with Ali … wait … what was that you said about Ali?" Luke just realized that Casey had said something about screwing things up with Allison Stewart.

"It's nothing." Casey tried to deny anything was wrong, but Luke could tell by his voice that something was very wrong.

"Case, don't treat me like I'm going to break. I get enough of that from everyone else. Hell, I can't even go to work now, because it might over stress my mind. So sit down here and tell me."

Casey turned back around and sat down on Luke's bed. He was fighting back tears. He knew that he wasn't supposed to upset Luke, they had all be told that from Reid weeks ago, but he needed to talk. And Luke was his best friend.

"She walked out on me. I always seem to do something wrong and now she isn't speaking to me. We were at Java yesterday, and having a good time. She was laughing at my stupid jokes, and then next thing I know, she's saying that she understands. It good that she does, but I don't understand anything. She said 'Case, I'm sorry I'm not the right person for you, I wish I could be, but I can't fight it anymore. You need to be who you are meant to be. I am only holding you back. I can't see you anymore.' She was crying and ran out of Java. Nearly ran over your assistant on her way out too. I ran after her, but she wouldn't talk to me. She's not answering her cell, she won't open her door. I don't understand what I did."

Luke reached out and held Casey's hand, trying to find a way to comfort his friend. He couldn't understand why Allison would leave Casey that way. Of course he didn't always understand Allison anyway. Noah was always closer to Ali then he was.

"I'll call her and see what I can find out. How can she resist a good looking guy like myself? It'll be ok." Luke reassured Casey.

"Thanks, dude. I won't forget it."

"It's the least I can do after everything that you and Ali have done over the years for me."

Luke's hospital room door opened and there was Noah standing in the doorway. Luke couldn't believe his eyes. Not only was Noah here, but Reid standing behind him. The two of them hadn't got along since Noah found out they were dating.

"Hi Luke. Do you mind if I come in?" Noah asked hesitantly.

"Ah … sure. That'll be great." Now that Noah was here, Luke was a little nervous about talking to him. What if he wasn't ready to find out the truth?

"Hey Noah … how are things in LA?" Case got up from Luke's bed so he could greet Noah.

"They're good Case. Um… do you mind? I would like to talk to Luke alone." Noah didn't want anyone around if Luke did start to remember. What happened, wasn't something that he wanted everyone to know about, especially Casey.

"No problem dude. I was just leaving anyway. It was good to see you." Casey patted Noah on the shoulder as he walked past him. It was almost like he couldn't get away from Noah fast enough. After everything that went on between them Noah couldn't blame him.

"Thank you, Mr. Hughes for staying with Luke while I was gone." Reid's eyes were focused on Luke. He was watching him to see if just Noah's presence sparked a memory. So far it didn't look like it.

"Later, dude." Casey said to Luke as he left the room.

"Reid, when are you going start calling my friends by their first names? If I didn't know better, I would think you were trying to intimidate them." Reid crossed the room with only a few steps until he was standing by his boyfriend's side. He pick up Luke's hand.

"What make you so sure that I'm not? They all can be annoying and so young. You would think that they were still back in kindergarten with the way they act sometimes." Reid kissed Luke. "I have some other things I need to do, and you and Noah need to talk. I'll see you later."

"Reid … thanks for this." Luke smiled.

"I hope it helps." Reid looked over at Noah. "Mr. Mayer. I'll see you later." Reid walked out the door and shut it behind him. He still wasn't sure that he did the right thing by bringing Noah here. But at least here, Luke was being monitored. If he started having any medical problems, the hospital was the safest place for him. And if he did remember, then Reid would be here, to help him get though the emotional fallout.

"Luke, hey. You know I'm sorry I wasn't here when you woke up." Noah pulled up a chair to Luke's bed and sat down in it.

"Don't apologize. You needed to be in LA. I would have been mad at you if you blew the opportunity just to stand by my side, waiting for me to wake up. Reid was here and so were Casey and Ali and my parents. I had plenty of people here looking out for me."

Noah felt guilty that he did in fact blow the opportunity in LA, but that was the least of his worries. Luke needed him and he knew that is was about time that he did something for Luke. Especially since this wouldn't benefit him in any way. Once Luke knew the truth, then he wouldn't want anything to do with him.

"Reid told me that you have no memory of the weeks leading up to the accident." Noah started again. He was trying to find the easiness that they used to have with each other.

"You could say that again. It is frustrating to not be able to remember. Every time I would try, I would get these headaches and then the last idea I had about remembering put me back in here. Reid thought I was having a heart attack. " Luke smiled and tried to act like it didn't bother him that he was back in a hospital bed.

"That must be why Reid called. He is worried about you. He said that if you saw me it might help you remember." Noah knew that it was only because of his worry for Luke that made Reid ask for Noah's help.

"Well, it doesn't appear that it is working. The last time I remember seeing you was when you threw that punch at Reid in front of Mona Cross. I know that you were upset with what happened, but you had no right to hit him." Noah sucked in a breath. Of course that would be the last thing that Luke remembered. Everything that happened after that is what led up the Luke getting hurt.

"Luke, I'm sorry for that. And we have gone over this before." Noah tried to apologize.  
"I don't remember…" Luke interrupted Noah.

"I know, Luke. Just let me finish. We have gone over this before, but I was always too stubborn to say I'm sorry. And I am Luke. I am sorry about it all. I am most sorry about hurting you. You have to know that I never meant to. And I don't blame you for moving on. I made you leave me. I should never have expected you to be waiting. And you were right when you said that we weren't right for each other. "

"I said that?" Luke was surprised that he would have told Noah that since he hated hurting Noah.

"Yeah you did and since the accident, I have thought about it a lot. You were right Luke. I wasn't right for you. I didn't know how to be part of a relationship. All I had for an example was my dad, growing up and that wasn't a very good one. I learned how to be selfish and that when something goes wrong it is always everyone else's fault. I never learned that I am responsible for my own actions. I can't think of one good thing that I learned about life from my dad. And I am sorry that I didn't figure all that out before it was too late. For while I wasn't right for you, you were right for me. You taught me about love and family. You taught me that even when you make mistakes, family doesn't turn their back on you. Your mother and father became the parents that I never had. Before the accident, Lily even told me that she will always think of me as her son and that she will always love me. Everything would have been so different, if I could have accepted that before now. You wouldn't be lying here. And I know you don't realize this, but you being here is my fault. I am responsible." Noah needed Luke's forgiveness, even though he knew that he would never forgive himself for what he did.

"Noah, it's not your fault that I fell down those stairs. It's not like you pushed me, right?" Noah face was completely drained of color. Noah did push Luke down those stairs. Maybe Luke was starting remember. And if Luke did remember, then that would spell trouble for Noah and any chance that he had of making things right with Luke.

**Next time … is Luke remembering? **


	9. Noah Does Something Unexpected

**CHAPTER NINE – NOAH DOES SOMETHING UNEXPECTED**

"Noah, it's not your fault that I fell down those stairs. It's not like you pushed me, right?" Noah face was completely drained of color because in fact Noah did push Luke down those stairs. Maybe Luke was starting remember. And if Luke did remember, then that would spell trouble for Noah and any chance that he had of making things right with Luke.

"Noah what is it. It was just an accident wasn't it? You went pale when I asked if you pushed me." Luke felt his stomach drop at the possibility that Noah had hurt him. He was not even sure why he even thought that Noah might have done something that terrible.

"I'm fine Luke. I was just remembering seeing you at the bottom of the stairs. And how scared I was when I thought you might be dead." _'And that I was the cause'_ Noah added silently.

"But you saved me, you called for help." Luke thought that something didn't feel quite right about what Noah just said. However Luke could not figure out what it was.

"Luke, you scared me. Seeing you like that and then later waiting for you to get out of surgery. Sure I knew that you were in good hands. I knew that Reid would never let anything happen to you. But when he came out and told us that you were in a coma and that he didn't know when or if you would ever wake up, I got angry. I said some real mean things to him."

Luke felt a moment of déjà vu. He had done the same thing after Noah's surgery when Reid didn't know if Noah had brain damage. Luke smiled with the memory of what had happened when he went in search for Reid at Katie's. The kiss they had shared was electrifying. When they almost had sex, it had caused Luke to realize how strong his feelings for Reid had become.

"Are you listening to me?" Noah snapped his fingers in front of Luke's face.

"What? Oh sorry. I was just caught up in a memory of how I felt after your surgery. When Reid told me that you might have brain damage, I saw red. I accused him of hurting you on purpose among other things."

"Well I yelled at Reid and said if he was so great, then why were you in a coma? And that if he loved you, then you would have been alright. After I was done and my anger all spent, Reid asked if I would keep vigil with him over you. He said that our mutual love for you might just guide you back to us. That night we sat in your room. I was on one side of your bed holding your hand and Reid was on the other. Reid and I talked all night. I confessed my feelings for you and he told me about how it probably surprised him more than anyone else when he realized that he was in love with you. Then in the morning, when I had to leave, I knew that Reid would stand guard over you and never give up. If it was the last thing he did, it would be to bring you back. Reid loves you more than I ever could and he is a very lucky man to have you."

Luke was so surprised to hear that from Noah that he didn't know what to say. The first thing that came to mind was, "So how is LA?"

"Good, but I didn't come here to talk about LA. I came to try to help you. What can I do?" Noah needed to change the subject. He did not like lying to Luke but knew that now was not the time to talk about where he had been.

"Well, the first few weeks after I woke up, Reid and I would talk about what we remembered from when we first met and worked our way up to the present. But it wasn't until he took me home from the hospital, that I remembered us moving in together. It was seeing the house that triggered the memories."

"So do you want to talk about the old times or should I just bust you out of here?"

"Actually I want you to tell me about what I can't remember. I know that Reid doesn't approve, but I need to know."

"I had to promise that I would not talk about what happened on September 1st or 3rd."

"Since when have you done what Reid told you?"

"Since you lost your memory … But I didn't promise not to talk about anything that happened before September."

"Then tell me about what happened last June after you punched Reid and why you were avoiding me until August."

Of course Luke would ask about that time when he was away. The chain of events that led to Luke almost dying started the day that Noah punched Reid. Anger had been building inside of him ever since he saw Luke and Reid kissing. Then like a volcano, once it had reached a critical level, it erupted. But the pressure for Noah just kept right on building and the anger never completely went away.

"I needed to get away from Oakdale and you. Everywhere I went, I would think of you. Remembering how we used to be before I became blind. I would go from being angry at you for not waiting, angry at Reid for stealing you, and angry at myself for pushing you away. That was what my world was like. Anger and nothing else. I took it out on anyone that was around. It was Ali that convinced me that I needed a break from all of it. I wasn't sure where I wanted to go, but I thought that I would try getting lost in a big city. So I went to Chicago. And then when I returned to Oakdale, I saw Reid with Chris at the Lakeview. I didn't know it was Chris at the time, but Reid told me all about that little drama the night after your accident." Luke picked up on something in the tone of Noah's voice when he said Chicago. Luke thought that Chicago might be the key to unlocking his memories.

"There is something about Chicago that you are not telling me." As soon as Luke said the words, he definitely knew that he was heading towards a breakthrough. He felt something similar when he saw the picture of the fireworks at home.

"I can't go into details. What happened in Chicago is what we talked about on September 1st." Luke started to get a headache. He put his hand on his forehead and used his fingers to put pressure on it.

"It was bad wasn't it?" When Noah didn't answer, Luke repeated "Wasn't it?"

"Yeah Luke, it was bad. But I got through it." Noah finally admitted.

"I wasn't there for you. It was my fault you went there, my fault you were hurt." The pain in Luke's head was starting to get worse.

"Luke, don't so this to yourself. It was not your fault." Noah didn't want Luke to blame himself anymore. It really wasn't Luke's fault. Luke then grabbed his head with both hands and screamed out in pain. The pain was so intense that he was seeing bright white lights that looked and felt like exploding fireworks. Then through the pain, he was transported back to Noah's apartment and he was seeing the events of September 1st unfold.

"_**Luke, it was your fault I was hurt! I would never have gone to Chicago if we hadn't broken up. I would not have met Lucas. Everything bad that has ever happened to me was your fault. That is all you have ever done is to hurt me!" Noah yelled at Luke. He was pounding on Luke's chest with both hands. Luke reached out to try to grab onto Noah's hands, but Noah shoved him away. **_

"_**Noah, what happened to you? Tell me." Luke managed to pull Noah into his arms. Luke held on tight so that Noah couldn't run away and hide from what he was feeling. There were tears streaming down Noah's face. Noah was having a hard time talking while he was crying, but managed to get some of it out. **_

"_**That first night I was in Chicago, I went to the nearest gay bar from the hotel I was staying in. My plan was to get drunk. Yeah not the smartest idea, I know. So while I was there, I met this guy Lucas. Yes that really was his name. Also in his favor was that he even looked a little like you. We hung out and talked for a bit. I am not sure how much I drank, because Lucas made sure that the drinks kept on coming. We went back to his place. And …" Noah completely broke down and was not able to continue. **_

"_**Shhh, Noah. It's alright. I'm here." Luke held on tight and used a rocking motion to help calm Noah down. He was not sure that he wanted to hear the rest of that night. Luke had a feeling that this guy Lucas was bad news. **_

"_**We made out on his couch and things were getting really intense when I pulled away. Lucas asked me what was wrong and I told him about you and Reid. He convinced me that the best way to feel better about it was to have sex with him. The next morning when I woke in his bed and remembered the night before, I was almost sick. I realized that it had been a mistake. What happened was just sex. You and I waited 18 months before making love and here I was jumping into bed with a stranger. I couldn't get my clothes on fast enough. Well, I didn't quite learn my lesson, because that night I was in another bar. I didn't want a repeat of the night before so this time I stayed away from any guys. Later that night, I took a cab back to my hotel. I never saw that Lucas was waiting for me." **_

"Luke, can you hear me?" Reid holding onto Luke's shoulder with one hand and was flashing a light into Luke's eyes with the other. "I'm not getting a response. Push the morphine now."

It hurt Reid to see Luke in that much pain. He didn't think that Nurse Gretchen was moving fast enough and was about to do it himself, when he saw that she had just administered the morphine directly into Luke's IV line. When Reid let go of Luke's shoulder, Luke started rocking back in forth on the bed. He was holding his head and whimpering in pain. Luke wasn't even aware of his surroundings. Reid was trying very hard to get the pain back under control so that hopefully Luke would emerge out of the trance he was in. A few moments after the morphine injection, Luke blinked his eyes and looked at Reid.

"Hey baby. You know I feel really strange. Tingly all over and dizzy. It feels kind of good though." Luke gave a goofy smile to Reid. The morphine had definitely taken affect. "Come here baby and lay down with me." Luke patted a spot next to him. Reid sat down and pulled Luke into an embrace. He held Luke and waited for sleep to overtake him. Reid knew that the effects of the morphine combined with his brain overload would knock Luke out for quite some time. Reid laid Luke down gently on the bed. He kissed Luke's forehead and then whispered in his ear. "I love you."

Noah was in the hall. He had been watching Reid work on Luke through the window. He was worried about Luke, but if anyone could help him, Reid could. Sure technically it had been only 6 weeks since Noah had last asked Luke to come back to him, but right now it seemed like a life time ago.

Reid came out of Luke's room. He saw how worried Noah had been. Reid wanted to yell at Noah for causing Luke's pain. However before he could open his mouth, he realized that when he looked at Noah it was like looking in a mirror. The pain and helplessness that Reid felt watching Luke was reflected in Noah's eyes. It had almost killed Reid to witness Luke's pain but at least he could try to do something about it. All Noah could do was watch. So instead of saying some inappropriate remark, Reid said. "He'll be alright. The pain is under control. He's sleeping, so now would be a good time to tell me what happened in there. Let's go to my office where we can talk in private. Nurse Gretchen will call if there is a change in Luke's condition." Reid turned Noah around and put his hand on Noah's back to guide him into walking.

They walked to Reid office in silence. Each blamed themselves for what just happened to Luke. It had been torture watching Luke in pain. They sat down next to each other on the couch in Reid office. Their shoulders were almost touching. It was like they got comfort from each other because they shared one thing in common. Make that two really big things. They both loved Luke Snyder and Luke Snyder loved them.

"I don't remember there being a couch in Bob's office." Noah tried to lighten the mood a little.

"There wasn't, but Luke thought that it would be perfect to add. Something about making the other doctors feel like they could come here and talk to me about their problems in their departments or something and not feel intimidated. I didn't really understand what he meant, but Luke's instincts about other people are usually accurate, so I agreed."

After a short pause, Noah just said bluntly what Reid obviously wanted to know. "Luke wanted to know why I was avoiding him from June to August. I told him that I was in Chicago. But he sensed there was something that I wasn't telling him. Then he started repeating that it was all his fault, grabbed his head and screamed."

"Sounds like he was remembering. And the emotional pain, turned into physical pain."

"Is this what you went through when he remembered your life together? How could you just stand by and let him go through that much pain again?" Noah raised his voice in accusation.

"No, it didn't hurt him when he remembered us together. Probably because those were happy memories. The memories with you on the other hand, devastated him the first time around, and now his brain is trying to protect him from all of that. I should have known that this would happen. I never should have brought you here."

Reid blamed himself. He was the doctor and while the brain was mysterious is some ways, it was predictable in others. One of the things that Reid loved about Luke was how deeply he cared about those he loved. Luke hated to see anyone hurt and once he gave his heart to someone, as a friend or a lover, then he would do everything in his power to make sure that they were good. Reid had just made a mistake and it hurt Luke. Reid had made some mistakes and had had a few misunderstandings with Luke in the short amount of time they had known each other, but that was Reid Oliver the man. Dr. Reid Oliver did not make mistakes. But this time he did and it hurt the man he loved. Reid could not even see how he could fix it. Luke had once said that Reid kept his personal life separated from his professional life better than anyone else. But that was before he had something to lose. Reid did not even realize he was 'leaking tears' until he felt Noah, the last person anyone would have thought would care, put his arms around him.

"You know this doesn't change anything. I'll still hate you tomorrow." Reid gave it his best shot, and tried to make a joke about the situation. While Noah and Reid would never be friends, Noah knew that what was best for Luke right now was a Reid that not only loved him, but one that also had the confidence and arrogance of being the top neurosurgeon in the world.

"I knew how much it hurt Luke when he found out how badly that guy hurt you. Luke not only blamed himself for it happening to you in the first place, but also because he wasn't there for you afterwords. Luke still loves you, and that is why it hurts him so much. His warm, caring heart and loyalty to those he loves are just a couple of the things that I love about him, but the down side to all of that is amount of pain he goes through when someone he loves is hurt. So what did I do? I brought you here so that he could remember. What an idiot I am."

Noah continued to hold Reid and comforted the man that he used to hate. It was strange to see the cold and rude Dr. Reid Oliver so vulnerable. Noah was seeing the part of Reid that Reid had previously only let Katie and Luke see. If anyone were to come into Reid's office and see them, they would be shocked. Not only because he was holding Reid, but because Reid was letting him. Everyone knew their history and that they hated each other with the same intensity as their love was for Luke.

But Noah had changed these past 6 weeks. The clinic that he had been at had helped him deal with Chicago, and Luke and even his abandonment issues. He had come to realize that the reason he always pushed Luke away was because he was scared that Luke would eventually leave him just like everyone else always had. So if he pushed Luke away first, then he could control when Luke left his life and not the other way around. Dr. Lee helped him see that all he was doing was creating the events that would lead to the person he cared about leaving him. He was moving forward. It might only be baby steps, but at least it was in the right direction.

"Reid, you need to listen to me." Noah's next words were completely unexpected. "Do not ever doubt Luke's love for you. You and only you are the one person that can make his life complete. Luke never looked at me the way he looks at you. I know that I will always have a place in his heart, but it is your name that is written on his soul."

**Ok, I have been working on this chapter for over a week. I kept trying to change Reid's reaction and breakdown at the end, but the Reid in my mind wouldn't let me. **


	10. The Exam NC17 Version

**CHAPTER TEN – THE EXAM (NC-17 VERSION)**

**Sorry it is has been over two weeks since I last updated. I had a bad case of writer's block. I think that this chapter will be worth your wait.**

**This chapter also see the the introduction of an original character that I own, Alexander Thorne. **

**This chapter is rated NC-17 for the part where Luke and Reid make love. I am also uploading a PG-13 version (same chapter just missing the explicit parts). So if you don't want to read the sex scene in it's entirety just press the next button to get to the PG-13 version.**

Luke opened his eyes and immediately wished that he had not. His head was throbbing and he could feel every beat of his heart as a shooting pain. It was too similar to how he felt when he woke from the coma. Unfortunately this time he didn't think that he would be told that what he was remembering wasn't true.

"We have to stop meeting like this. My reputation is in shreds because my boyfriend prefers sleeping in a hospital bed to sleeping in mine." Reid was sitting in the chair next to Luke bed wearing a pair of blue scrubs. Reid never liked leaving Luke alone in the hospital, so it did not surprise Luke that it looked like Reid stayed the night in Luke's room. Reid must have a dozen pairs of scrubs in his office so that he can change on the occasions when he doesn't make it home.

"God Reid, don't make me laugh. It hurts too much." Luke smiled at the man he loved.

"That could be side effect from the morphine that I gave you. I would say that your pain level last night was at a 10 since you were nonresponsive to anything going on in the room around you. Noah thinks that you were remembering and I think that you were trapped by the memory and were reliving it."

"So it's true then."

"Tell me what you remember, and I'll let you know." Reid reached out and took hold of Luke's hand.

"That Noah was beat up by that Lucas guy in Chicago because Noah did not want to sleep with him." Luke's voice was barely greater then a whisper.

"Yes, Luke. I wish that it wasn't, but it's true." Luke felt like he had been run over by a bus.

"No wonder you didn't want me to tell me. It's my fault that he was hurt and I wasn't there to help him. How can you even want to be with someone who doesn't even notice that something was wrong with Noah?" Luke's voice started to get louder as he got more upset.

"Luke, you're not to blame. You did not do it." Reid tried to reassure Luke.

"But I did Reid. Noah couldn't stand to watch me being happy because I was with you. I could have insisted that we keep on relationship quiet to spare him that pain. But no. I was selfish. I wanted everyone to know that we were together. Sure I heard all the talk about how I dumped the blind guy for his hot doctor. But I didn't care how that might make Noah feel. For the first time in a long time I was only thinking about myself and looked what happened. Noah could have died in Chicago and I wouldn't have even known." By the time Luke was finished, there were tears in his eyes.

"Luke, don't beat yourself up. It wasn't your fault. As strange as it might seem, that incident has helped me more then you can know." Noah said from the doorway.

"I thought I asked you to wait in hall." Reid snapped at Noah.

"I could hear Luke out there and couldn't let him continue to blame himself for something that wasn't his fault. You know how he can get." Noah fired back. He was not going to let Reid Oliver intimidate him.

"Of course I do. I also know that he has to get it all out of his system before he will be able to calm back down. Didn't you ever learn that during your 3 years together?" Reid wanted Noah out of the room. His presence right now was only going to upset Luke even more.

"Don't I have any say as to how I feel?" Luke inserted himself into the conversation.

"No!" Noah and Reid said together.

"At last, something the two of you can agree on. But before you two continue talking about me like I am not even in the room, can I at least get something for this headache?"

"I'll need to write an order for it. I'll just tell Allison what to bring to you. Noah, you need to come with me."

"Reid, let him stay. I want to talk to him."

"First we get your headache under control, then you can talk to Noah. Besides I need to finish examining you and Noah doesn't need to be here for that." After Reid winked at him, Luke blushed in memory of one of those times when Reid had "examined" him.

Reid kissed him and gave him one of his playful slaps on his cheek as he started to pull away. Before he could get very far, Luke whispered "Don't be long. Dr. Oliver, I have something that needs your complete attention." Luke dropped his eyes and Reid's eyes automatically followed Luke's until he noticed the bulge in Luke's hospital gown.

"You don't play fair, Mr. Snyder."

"Why Dr. Oliver, are you sure you don't want to play with my toys? It's not the Grimaldi jet this time, but you might get the feeling like you're flying." Luke flirted with Reid. They both forgot that Noah had been in the room until they heard the door shut.

"Oh, god. I can't believe I said that to you while Noah was in the room. What must he be thinking?" Luke was turning a remarkable shade of red. It was one color that Reid enjoyed seeing on Luke and he did his best to put that color on Luke whenever he had the opportunity.

"Trust me Luke. He's fine. But I don't want to talk about him. You just offered yourself up to an examination and it might be the perfect cure for the headache of yours."

Reid's mouth claimed Luke's. With one hand Reid held onto the back of Luke's head, and with the other, he moved aside the hospital gown that was between him and the only part of Luke's body that should be throbbing.

As Luke felt the hospital gown move across his legs until there was nothing covering his desire for Reid, he moaned into Reid's mouth. He expected Reid to touch him, but when that did not happen, he tried to guide Reid's hand. Reid pulled away from the kiss long enough to say. "Not yet. You are a patient in my hospital, Mr. Snyder and I don't plan on rushing your exam. I am going to take my time with you."

Reid captured Luke's mouth and kissed him long and hard. He untied the hospital gown and removed it completely from Luke's body. He stopped kissing Luke long enough to push the Nurse call button and tell Allison Stewart that he was taking the heart monitor off of Luke so that he could take a shower. Allison tried to cover her laugh with a cough. Luke blushed with the knowledge that everyone in the hospital would think that he needed help taking a shower. However it didn't take long before all thoughts of anyone or anything else were driven from his mind and replaced only by thoughts of where Reid's tongue was at and what he was doing with it.

Reid trailed light kisses down Luke's neck and chest. After he reached Luke's stomach he did the unexpected and started moving back up his body. As Reid flicked his tongue over Luke's right nipple, the fingers of his left hand found Luke's other nipple and he gave it a slight pinch. Luke's moan was all the encouragement that Reid needed to latch onto the nipple that his tongue was teasing and take it between his teeth. Luke hands were in Reid's hair as he started sucking on it.

"Reid, please …. I … need… you…" Luke was breathless with anticipation of what he wanted Reid to be doing.

"Need what, Mr. Snyder?" Reid loved it when Luke couldn't form complete thoughts.

"Need this?" Reid's hand found Luke's cock standing at attention and started stroking it.

"Or is this what you need?" Luke felt Reid breath on the head of his cock just before Reid's tongue darted out to taste the pre-cum.

"Or maybe this?" Reid slowly lowered his mouth over Luke's cock until he could feel it hitting the back of his throat. As Reid slowly moved his mouth back to the top so that he could swirl his tongue over the head of Luke's cock, Luke was pushed over the edge and could not wait anymore. He grabbed Reid's head and took over the speed. It did not take long before he felt close to his release. But this wasn't the way he wanted it. He wanted Reid inside of him first.

Reid felt Luke getting close. He increased the pressure of his lips and waited for Luke's pleasure to fill his mouth. However before that could happen, Luke was pulling out of his mouth.

"No, not yet. You haven't finished your exam yet, Dr. Oliver. I think you need to take my temperature."

Before Reid could do or say anything to that, Luke had sat up and pulled the scrubs pants off of him. Luke hands were on Reid's hips as he went directly to what he wanted and engulfed Reid's cock with his mouth. Luke went slow at first, then built up some speed and slowed it back down again. It wasn't long before Luke couldn't wait anymore. He needed Reid to fill him up now.

Luke stood up and pushed Reid down in the chair beside his bed. He leaned into Reid as he reached behind him to pull out the bottle of lubricant that was in the overnight bag. He poured some in his hands and then massaged it all over Reid's cock. Luke felt Reid get even harder as he waited to be inside of the younger man. Luke straddled Reid and slowly lowered himself onto Reid's cock. He did not stop until Reid was completely inside. He rocked back and forth, loving the feeling of Reid filling him up. Then Luke started moving up and down. They both released moans as the pace quickened. Luke wrapped his arms around Reid and hung on for the ride. Reid buried his face in Luke's neck and when he felt Luke's cum hit his chest, he bit down on Luke's shoulder and gave a few final thrusts before he too was spent.

Luke sat there for a few minutes catching his breath and coming down from the high he always felt when he made love with Reid. He cherished these moments when they just held each other.

"I guess I should go take that shower you told Allison I was going to take." Luke stood up and headed into the bath room. He turned on the shower, but before stepping in he said "You should get cleaned up too. Too bad this shower isn't big enough for two."

"Just give me a wash cloth for now. Later, I can use the shower in my office. It has all of my shower things. You know how I am with …"

"what goes on your body." Luke finished Reid sentence. "I know all about how you hate change and have to have the same routine everyday, which includes your shower rituals." Luke teased. Other people might find Reid being ocd about certain things hard to handle, but Luke thought they were cute and he loved those things about Reid. And some of the faces Reid made about them were priceless. Those were just some of the little things that made Reid who he was.

* * *

Minutes earlier, Noah was wondering just how much longer Luke and Reid were going to be.

"Hey, dude. What are you doing outside of Luke's room?" Casey asked Noah.

"Giving the two lovebirds some privacy. I don't think they want an audience, even though earlier they did seem to forget I was in the room."

"You can't mean what I think you mean."

"That depends on what you are thinking. But knowing what is always on your mind, then yes, that is what is going on."

"No, you can't mean that they are having sex in a hospital room where anyone can walk in on them?" Casey thought that Noah was pulling his leg. Luke just wasn't the type of person that liked semi-public sex. He reached to open the door when Noah grabbed his arm.

"You might not want to do that."

"Hey, I'll just open the door a little and peak in. They are probably just talking." Casey being Casey, did not listen to Noah. He quietly opened the door and stuck his head inside. He saw Luke sitting on Reid's lap with his head resting on Reid's shoulder. He just as quietly closed the door. The look on Casey's face told Noah that he had been right to leave when he did.

"Luke's changed since he started dating Reid, hasn't he?"

"Yeah, dude. He has. Are you alright with all of this?" Casey wasn't sure what he would do if Noah's answer was in the negative. Luke was his best friend and he had never seen him happier than he had been since Reid came into his life. But Noah was still a friend.

"Of course. It has been over 9 months since we broke up. I am happy for Luke. Really. Sure I would have preferred that he had moved on with someone other than Reid Oliver, but it's not like Luke planned on falling for the doctor that he brought here to restore my eyesight. It just happened."

"Well if it isn't Noah Mayer. How have you been? Haven't heard anything from you since that big move to LA. I was beginning to think that you thought we were too small of a town for you." Alexander Thorne, Luke's assistant walked up and gave Noah a hug. He nodded to Casey in greeting.

"How's everything at The Foundation?" Noah asked.

"I've been busy, especially since Luke hasn't worked since the accident. I usually stop by to see him every couple of days and bring any papers that needs his signature. What happening now is that there is this group in Dallas that wants some help funding a camp for kids that are HIV positive. It would give them a week of fun in a safe environment. I just need Luke's approval to move forward with setting up a fundraiser in Dallas. Maybe the Doc would even be able to take a few days off and show him around where he used to live."

"That sounds like a great idea. I'm sure that Luke will love it." Casey joined in on the conversation. He gave Alex a pat on the back.

"Casey's right. Luke will love it. So did you go seeking this group out, or did they come to you?" Noah asked.

"They came to us. It seems that they saw a documentary that mentioned us and about how much we love to help kids. One of the members of this group actually works at the hospital where the Doc used to work. Strange coincidence don't you think? Even if they hadn't met because of your blindness, they might have met because of this." Alex rambled on.

"Why is everyone hanging outside of Luke's room? He should be done with his shower by now. Dr. Oliver called the nurses' station a half hour ago." Allison joined the group of men before reaching for the door. "I need to get Luke's vitals and hook him back up to the heart monitor."

"That might not be a good idea right now. Reid is still in there with Luke and they want to be alone." Casey said.

* * *

As Reid was preparing to head out the door, Luke asked from the shower "Do you think there is any chance that everyone doesn't know what the COS was doing in his patient's room just now?"

Reid opened the door to see Noah, Casey, Alex and Allison watching the door. "Not a chance in hell. You have company and I have rounds." Reid was laughing as he left Luke's room. He imagined that by now Luke was turning that adorable shade of red that Reid loved. Luke always got embarrassed when he thought other people knew any details about his sex life. He was going to have one hell of a visit with Noah, Casey and Alex. Too bad he was going to miss it.

"You might want to wait until Luke is at least done with his shower and is back in bed before visiting" Reid said to all of Luke's speechless visitors.

**OK, please review. I really want to know what you all thought about the sex scene. Too much, too little, just right? Thanks in advance. **


	11. The Exam PG 13 version

**CHAPTER TEN – THE EXAM (PG-13 VERSION)**

**Sorry it is has been over two weeks since I last updated. I had a bad case of writer's block. I think that this chapter will be worth your wait.**

******This chapter also see the the introduction of an original character that I own, Alexander Thorne.**  


**This is the PG- 13 version of Chapter 10. This version has parts of the sex scene cut. If you would like the read the sex scene in it's entirety just click on the previous button for the NC-17 version. **

Luke opened his eyes and immediately wished that he had not. His head was throbbing and he could feel every beat of his heart as a shooting pain. It was too similar to how he felt when he woke from the coma. Unfortunately this time he didn't think that he would be told that what he was remembering wasn't true.

"We have to stop meeting like this. My reputation is in shreds because my boyfriend prefers sleeping in a hospital bed to sleeping in mine." Reid was sitting in the chair next to Luke bed wearing a pair of blue scrubs. Reid never liked leaving Luke alone in the hospital, so it did not surprise Luke that it looked like Reid stayed the night in Luke's room. Reid must have a dozen pairs of scrubs in his office so that he can change on the occasions when he doesn't make it home.

"God Reid, don't make me laugh. It hurts too much." Luke smiled at the man he loved.

"That could be side effect from the morphine that I gave you. I would say that your pain level last night was at a 10 since you were nonresponsive to anything going on in the room around you. Noah thinks that you were remembering and I think that you were trapped by the memory and were reliving it."

"So it's true then."

"Tell me what you remember, and I'll let you know." Reid reached out and took hold of Luke's hand.

"That Noah was beat up by that Lucas guy in Chicago because Noah did not want to sleep with him." Luke's voice was barely greater then a whisper.

"Yes, Luke. I wish that it wasn't, but it's true." Luke felt like he had been run over by a bus.

"No wonder you didn't want me to tell me. It's my fault that he was hurt and I wasn't there to help him. How can you even want to be with someone who doesn't even notice that something was wrong with Noah?" Luke's voice started to get louder as he got more upset.

"Luke, you're not to blame. You did not do it." Reid tried to reassure Luke.

"But I did Reid. Noah couldn't stand to watch me being happy because I was with you. I could have insisted that we keep on relationship quiet to spare him that pain. But no. I was selfish. I wanted everyone to know that we were together. Sure I heard all the talk about how I dumped the blind guy for his hot doctor. But I didn't care how that might make Noah feel. For the first time in a long time I was only thinking about myself and looked what happened. Noah could have died in Chicago and I wouldn't have even known." By the time Luke was finished, there were tears in his eyes.

"Luke, don't beat yourself up. It wasn't your fault. As strange as it might seem, that incident has helped me more then you can know." Noah said from the doorway.

"I thought I asked you to wait in hall." Reid snapped at Noah.

"I could hear Luke out there and couldn't let him continue to blame himself for something that wasn't his fault. You know how he can get." Noah fired back. He was not going to let Reid Oliver intimidate him.

"Of course I do. I also know that he has to get it all out of his system before he will be able to calm back down. Didn't you ever learn that during your 3 years together?" Reid wanted Noah out of the room. His presence right now was only going to upset Luke even more.

"Don't I have any say as to how I feel?" Luke inserted himself into the conversation.

"No!" Noah and Reid said together.

"At last, something the two of you can agree on. But before you two continue talking about me like I am not even in the room, can I at least get something for this headache?"

"I'll need to write an order for it. I'll just tell Allison what to bring to you. Noah, you need to come with me."

"Reid, let him stay. I want to talk to him."

"First we get your headache under control, then you can talk to Noah. Besides I need to finish examining you and Noah doesn't need to be here for that." After Reid winked at him, Luke blushed in memory of one of those times when Reid had "examined" him.

Reid kissed him and gave him one of his playful slaps on his cheek as he started to pull away. Before he could get very far, Luke whispered "Don't be long. Dr. Oliver, I have something that needs your complete attention." Luke dropped his eyes and Reid's eyes automatically followed Luke's until he noticed the bulge in Luke's hospital gown.

"You don't play fair, Mr. Snyder."

"Why Dr. Oliver, are you sure you don't want to play with my toys? It's not the Grimaldi jet this time, but you might get the feeling like you're flying." Luke flirted with Reid. They both forgot that Noah had been in the room until they heard the door shut.

"Oh, god. I can't believe I said that to you while Noah was in the room. What must he be thinking?" Luke was turning a remarkable shade of red. It was one color that Reid enjoyed seeing on Luke and he did his best to put that color on Luke whenever he had the opportunity.

"Trust me Luke. He's fine. But I don't want to talk about him. You just offered yourself up to an examination and it might be the perfect cure for the headache of yours."

Reid's mouth claimed Luke's. With one hand Reid held onto the back of Luke's head, and with the other, he moved aside the hospital gown that was between him and the only part of Luke's body that should be throbbing.

"You are a patient in my hospital, Mr. Snyder and I don't plan on rushing your exam. I am going to take my time with you."

Reid captured Luke's mouth and kissed him long and hard. He untied the hospital gown and removed it completely from Luke's body. He stopped kissing Luke long enough to push the Nurse call button and tell Allison Stewart that he was taking the heart monitor off of Luke so that he could take a shower. Allison tried to cover her laugh with a cough. Luke blushed with the knowledge that everyone in the hospital would think that he needed help taking a shower. However it didn't take long before all thoughts of anyone or anything else were driven from his mind and replaced only by thoughts of what Reid was doing.

* * *

A half hour later, Luke was catching his breath and coming down from the high he always felt when he made love with Reid. He cherished these moments when they just held each other.

"I guess I should go take that shower you told Allison I was going to take." Luke stood up and headed into the bath room. He turned on the shower, but before stepping in he said "You should get cleaned up too. Too bad this shower isn't big enough for two."

"Just give me a wash cloth for now. Later, I can use the shower in my office. It has all of my shower things. You know how I am with …"

"what goes on your body." Luke finished Reid sentence. "I know all about how you hate change and have to have the same routine everyday, which includes your shower rituals." Luke teased. Other people might find Reid being ocd about certain things hard to handle, but Luke thought they were cute and he loved those things about Reid. And some of the faces Reid made about them were priceless. Those were just some of the little things that made Reid who he was.

* * *

Minutes earlier, Noah was wondering just how much longer Luke and Reid were going to be.

"Hey, dude. What are you doing outside of Luke's room?" Casey asked Noah.

"Giving the two lovebirds some privacy. I don't think they want an audience, even though earlier they did seem to forget I was in the room."

"You can't mean what I think you mean."

"That depends on what you are thinking. But knowing what is always on your mind, then yes, that is what is going on."

"No, you can't mean that they are having sex in a hospital room where anyone can walk in on them?" Casey thought that Noah was pulling his leg. Luke just wasn't the type of person that liked semi-public sex. He reached to open the door when Noah grabbed his arm.

"You might not want to do that."

"Hey, I'll just open the door a little and peak in. They are probably just talking." Casey being Casey, did not listen to Noah. He quietly opened the door and stuck his head inside. He saw Luke and Reid in what looked liked the aftermath of sex. He just as quietly closed the door. The look on Casey's face told Noah that he had been right to leave when he did.

"Luke's changed since he started dating Reid, hasn't he?"

"Yeah, dude. He has. Are you alright with all of this?" Casey wasn't sure what he would do if Noah's answer was in the negative. Luke was his best friend and he had never seen him happier than he had been since Reid came into his life. But Noah was still a friend.

"Of course. It has been over 9 months since we broke up. I am happy for Luke. Really. Sure I would have preferred that he had moved on with someone other than Reid Oliver, but it's not like Luke planned on falling for the doctor that he brought here to restore my eyesight. It just happened."

"Well if it isn't Noah Mayer. How have you been? Haven't heard anything from you since that big move to LA. I was beginning to think that you thought we were too small of a town for you." Alexander Thorne, Luke's assistant walked up and gave Noah a hug. He nodded to Casey in greeting.

"How's everything at The Foundation?" Noah asked.

"I've been busy, especially since Luke hasn't worked since the accident. I usually stop by to see him every couple of days and bring any papers that needs his signature. What happening now is that there is this group in Dallas that wants some help funding a camp for kids that are HIV positive. It would give them a week of fun in a safe environment. I just need Luke's approval to move forward with setting up a fundraiser in Dallas. Maybe the Doc would even be able to take a few days off and show him around where he used to live."

"That sounds like a great idea. I'm sure that Luke will love it." Casey joined in on the conversation. He gave Alex a pat on the back.

"Casey's right. Luke will love it. So did you go seeking this group out, or did they come to you?" Noah asked.

"They came to us. It seems that they saw a documentary that mentioned us and about how much we love to help kids. One of the members of this group actually works at the hospital where the Doc used to work. Strange coincidence don't you think? Even if they hadn't met because of your blindness, they might have met because of this." Alex rambled on.

"Why is everyone hanging outside of Luke's room? He should be done with his shower by now. Dr. Oliver called the nurses' station a half hour ago." Allison joined the group of men before reaching for the door. "I need to get Luke's vitals and hook him back up to the heart monitor."

"That might not be a good idea right now. Reid is still in there with Luke and they want to be alone." Casey said.

* * *

As Reid was preparing to head out the door, Luke asked from the shower "Do you think there is any chance that everyone doesn't know what the COS was doing in his patient's room just now?"

Reid opened the door to see Noah, Casey, Alex and Allison watching the door. "Not a chance in hell. You have company and I have rounds." Reid was laughing as he left Luke's room. He imagined that by now Luke was turning that adorable shade of red that Reid loved. Luke always got embarrassed when he thought other people knew any details about his sex life. He was going to have one hell of a visit with Noah, Casey and Alex. Too bad he was going to miss it.

"You might want to wait until Luke is at least done with his shower and is back in bed before visiting" Reid said to all of Luke's speechless visitors.


	12. The Kiss

**CHAPTER ELEVEN – THE KISS**

Allison had just finished taking Luke's blood pressure. Alex, Casey and Noah were still outside since she had insisted that they wait until she was done doing her job before coming in to visit. Luke was in for a good old fashioned ribbing at their hands.

"Luke, those boys out there are getting impatient. Are you ready to face them yet?" Allison was a little concerned for her friend, but it wasn't like he didn't deserve some teasing at the hands of his closest friends.

"No. But the longer I wait the more time they have to think up things to say." Luke smiled and tried to pretend that he wasn't embarrassed about everyone knowing that he and Reid had just had sex in his hospital room.

"Good luck." Allison gave Luke a quick hug and just before she opened the door to leave she turned back to Luke. "It's good to see you happy Luke. Dr. Oliver is good for you."

Allison opened the door and the three young men were anxiously waiting for their turn with Luke.

"The three of you can go in to visit now." They almost ran her over trying to get through the door.

"Hey dude. Are you decent? I don't need another vision of your backside." Casey teased.

"If you consider a hospital gown decent." It took a few seconds until Luke realized what exactly Casey had implied with his statement. "You came into my room when Reid was here?" Luke voice held disbelief that Casey could have seen them.

"Dude, you know me, closed doors never keep me out. And for what it's worth, you have a cute ass." Casey winked at Luke and gave him a light punch in the arm.

"Hey that's not fair, now I'm the only one in this room that hasn't seen you with your clothes off. You could just roll over and let me have a peak." Alex moved closer to Luke's bed and reached for the blanket that was covering Luke's legs.

"Sorry Loverboy, but this is one ass that you don't get to see." Luke slapped Alex's hand away before he could pull the sheet down.

"That's too bad, Alex. Luke has a great ass." Noah added.

"Next time you and Doc should sell tickets. From the look on Casey's face when he told me what he saw of you two, it would be well worth whatever price you charge. And who knows you might be able to show me something I don't already know." Alex laughed because the chances of that happening were very small.

"If you had your own boyfriend, then you wouldn't be so concerned about my love life." Luke shot back at Alex. Alex had turned 30 earlier in the year; however he had never had a boyfriend that had lasted more than month or two.

"Red, sweetie, you know you are the only man for me. No one else has ever been able to measure up. " Alex put his hand over his heart and winked at Luke. "I still can't believe that you picked Doc over me. I am better looking, taller and have a better body if I do day so."

"First off, why Red? And second, Reid is way hotter than you are. Third, I can't wait until the day when you meet the guy that will steal your heart and make an honest man out of you." Everyone laughed because they could not imagine Alex being anything other than the playboy he was.

"Red is for that beautiful color your face has been since we walked in here. It brings out the highlights in your hair. Now this is only because I love you, but I will put it to a vote and let your friends decide. Do you two think that Red would make a good nickname for Luke? It's catchy and beside it will always remind him of his sexual encounter with Doc."

"Dude, I like it. A drama queen like Luke deserves a good nickname." Casey puts his hand up and gets a high five from Alex.

"It would be adorable to see those cute cheeks change colors every time you called him Red." Noah gave one of those cheeks a pinch and Luke glared at his ex-boyfriend. "I couldn't say it with a straight face, but Alex, you could pull it off."

"Guys, ok. What is so shocking about two people that love each other making love?" Luke was starting to get irritated at all the teasing and let it show.

"Red, it's the where, not the what that is so shocking. I guess maybe I should start knocking on your office door before coming in. There is no telling what I might walk in on. Course it might be worth it to see you in the flesh."

"I'm never going to live this down, am I?" Luke sighed. He was still irritated, but figured that he did deserve some of the teasing. And when it came down to it, being with Reid earlier was worth all the jokes from his friends.

"Never." All three friends agreed.

"The only thing that would shock me more then what just happened between you and Reid would be if Alex and Casey got together." Noah said to the surprise of everyone in the room. Not skipping a beat, Alex took the opportunity to put his arm around Casey.

"Dude … baby, don't you think it time we tell them? Luke … Noah … Dude and I are together." Casey in shock of what Alex had just said turned his head and started to speak. You could have heard a pin drop in the room as Luke and Noah witnessed Casey getting a kiss from Alex. The kiss didn't last long, only a few seconds, but it was long enough to make Alex wish that Casey wasn't straight. Casey broke the kiss and pushed Alex away.

"What was that for?" Casey was clearly upset by the kiss. "Do you go around kissing all the guys … Don't answer that, I already know the answer."

"Sorry, Dude. I meant to just give you a quick kiss on the cheek as a joke, but you turned your head. Then our lips touched and it was magical. I think I found THE guy that Luke was talking about. Are you sure you're not gay? " Alex tried to cover up his reaction to the kiss and make it seem that it was all part of the joke, but no one in the room was buying it.

"And stop calling me Dude." Casey ignored the 'gay' question deliberately. He was not going to let Alex turn his sexuality into a joke.

"You know I always find nicknames for people and since you are always saying dude this and dude that, it makes a perfect name for you." Alex said.

"Well, I don't like it. And Luke, I don't think that I can take you up on your job offer. It wouldn't take long before Alex and I were at each other's throats." Casey was clearly not happy with the situation.

"What job?" Alex and Noah asked together. While Noah looked at Luke when he asked, Alex looked at Casey.

"I offered Casey, Tompkins job. Case, please reconsider. It would be perfect for you." Luke wanted to help out his best friend. He had always blamed himself for Casey getting expelled from OU after the election fiasco. It was Luke's insecurities over his past with Kevin that made him felt like he had to win the election for student president. Casey had been only trying to help him and had been paying to price of not finishing college ever since.

"Dude, take the job. I'll behave. I promise I'll keep my hands to myself." Casey wasn't sure if Alex was joking or not. But either way he wasn't sure if it was a good idea to be spending more time with him then they already do.

"Casey, don't let Alex under your skin. He's just one big flirt and means nothing by it." Noah said.

"I … ah …" Casey never got a chance to finish his thought as Luke interrupted.

"Think on it some more. I really would like for you have the job." Luke sincerity was apparent to everyone and Alex felt horrible that it might be his fault that Casey didn't take the job.

Alex held up his right hand. "I promise never to kiss you again … unless you want me to." Noah punched Alex in the arm. "Ok, ok … sorry. I couldn't resist. I won't do anything you don't want me to. Is that better HW?" While Alex was watching Casey, he noticed that Casey was more upset by the kiss then he previously thought. He wanted to put Casey at ease around him, but wasn't sure how.

"There's no reasoning with you is there? How am I supposed to work with this guy when we can't seem to get along for more than 5 minutes at a time?" Casey sighed. He felt like he was in a no win situation. He wanted the job, but didn't want to be fighting with Alex all the time either.

"Are you saying you are taking the job?" Luke sounded hopeful.

"Yeah, I guess I am. You guys are right. And besides since Ali broke up with me, I need something new to do to keep my mind off of her. Now I do have to go. My shift at the hospital is starting soon and I shouldn't be late. I'll stop by later Luke and see how you are doing." Casey gave Luke a quick hug and then practically ran out of the room. In his rush, Casey even forgot to say goodbye to Noah. The only person that noticed was Alex.

"Well I need to head back to the office. I just need you to sign the papers for the fundraiser." Alex gave Luke the papers. Luke looked them over and signed then when he was done.

"Thanks for bringing them over. Let me know if there is anything else that needs my attention." Luke handed the papers back to Alex and he put them back into his briefcase.

"Just get better. It's not the same without you running in and out of the office. HW, it was good to see you again. When do you have to leave?"

"I almost forgot about that nickname you gave me."

"Hollywood suited you before you left and it is even more fitting since you now live there."

"I could only get away for a day, so I have to leave this afternoon. It was good to see you." Alex took Noah's right hand with his own, pulled him into a quick hug and clapped him on the back.

"Don't be such a stranger. Call me sometime and let me know you haven't dropped off the face of the earth. I might even come visit you out in LA and if you're not seeing anyone we could become even closer friends." Alex winked at Noah before leaving the room. Now it was only Luke and Noah left in the room.  
"Seriously now who are you and what have you done with Luke? You have changed so much that I hardly recognize you." Noah sat down in the chair next to Luke's bed.

"I can see Alex and Casey never letting me live this down, but you too? It's not like we never almost got caught a time or two before we got our apartment. Remember that time by the pond when …" Luke started laughing.

"Ok, ok … your point is well taken. No need to remind me about when your mother almost caught us in the pond. It was a little embarrassing when Lily kept asking if I was getting cold in the water and shouldn't I just get out and dry off. And there you were laughing on shore, knowing perfectly well that I wasn't wearing anything." Noah smiled while he remembered that day. That was one of the last real happy moments they had together. Even though living together in their own apartment had been nice, that summer was when everything started unraveling between him and Luke.

"You looked so hilarious, standing there trying not to shiver, all the while telling my mother that you weren't cold at all." Noah was thinking that it was good to see Luke laughing again. It had been too long since Luke had felt comfortable enough around him too show himself being happy.

"So, what is going on with those two? If I didn't know that Casey was straight, I would have thought that Alex was serious when he said that he and Casey were seeing each other. There is something brewing under the surface between them. Are you sure having them work together is such a good idea?" Noah had been working on his observation skills with Dr Lee. After only a few weeks, it was starting to become second nature to him. And these skills would later be put to good use to make him a better director.

"Not sure what happened, but whatever it was happened when I was in the coma. It's like Casey said, they can't seem to be in the same room for more than 5 minutes before they aren't getting along. They'll work it out. But enough about them. We need to talk, Noah." Luke was a little nervous and tried to cover it up by shifting in the bed so that he was sitting more upright.

Noah swallowed. Now that the time was here to talk, he wasn't sure that was ready to have the conversation. "Luke, I'm sorry about…"

"What do you have to be sorry about? I am the one that is sorry. I wasn't there for you. You didn't think that you could come to me because I was too wrapped up in Reid. Noah, just because we aren't together anymore, doesn't mean that I stopped caring. I'll always be here if you need anything." Luke voice was starting to get louder and breaking up, just like it always did when he got emotional.

"I'm sorry I blamed you. I'm sorry that I pushed you away. I've grown up a lot since leaving and if you and I were still together, I would still be the same Noah that blamed you for everything. And getting beat up in Chicago actually had helped me. At first I blamed you, even told you as much, but after you almost died, I admitted to myself that it was my fault." Looking at Luke's face, Noah didn't think that he was getting through to him. Given their history in that Noah never admitted his mistakes, he could not really blame Luke for not believing him.

"But if I wouldn't have fallen for Reid …" Luke looked down. He couldn't look at Noah right at this moment. He still felt horrible that his happiness brought so much pain to Noah.

"You wouldn't be happy." Noah reached out and put his hand on top of Luke's and smiled as Luke looked back up. "Being with Reid has made you stronger, given you more confidence in yourself. But if you feel that you have to make it up to me, then there is one thing that I think you should do."

"Whatever it is, I'll do it." The corners of Luke mouth turned up a little with the knowledge that there was something that he could do for Noah.

"Do what you love, start writing again." Luke wanted to do anything he could to make it up to Noah, but that was the last thing he expected Noah to ask of him.

"Between the Foundation and Grimaldi Shipping, there isn't enough time left over to spend time writing. " Luke automatically used the same spiel that he always used whenever anyone asked him about his writing. It was only an excuse, because the real reason was that he didn't think he was good enough.

"Stop making excuses. Alex is able to handle the Foundation and I'm sure you can find someone else to run Grimaldi Shipping. You have way too many ideas for stories to leave them unwritten. And besides you promised me the opportunity to direct a movie that you wrote." Noah hoped that the reminder of his promise would be enough motivation to push Luke into doing it.

"Noah, Mason didn't think I was good enough." Luke whispered.

"C'mon, Luke. That was because Mason wanted to spend more time with me, not because what you wrote wasn't good. Now that is something else I should apologize for." It wasn't until this moment that Noah realized how much Mason Jarvis, his former professor and senior film advisor, had changed both of their lives. He had been too caught up in the excitement of making a film that he didn't see how much it must have hurt Luke to be told that his writing wasn't very good.

"You couldn't help how Mason felt about you." Luke was having a difficult time adjusting to this new Noah whom was willing to accept that he made mistakes.

"But I did enjoy the attention that he gave me. To have someone like him, think that I was that good, fed my ego. His approval meant so much and …" Noah started blushing. "I ah… guess you should know … ah …I was attracted to him and that was why I was so angry about Damian getting him fired. I swear Luke, I would never have cheated on you, but I did want to be around him." As hard as it was to admit his feelings for Mason, Noah knew that the time was right to bring it all out in the open.

"You know what caused my jealousy was that you and Mason had so much in common. I felt you slipping away from me and I think that was why I acted the way I did. But just because I didn't trust Mason, doesn't mean I shouldn't have trusted you. But now that things are different, maybe you should look Mason up. See if there is still something between you." Luke wanted Noah to be happy and if that pompous ass could bring happiness to Noah, then he would just have to get used to the idea of them together. It's not like he didn't know that Noah would rather Luke was with anyone other than the doctor that had restored his eyesight.

"I don't know that he would want to see me. I did cost him his job after all. But don't think I didn't see through your change of subject. Just think about it, ok? You are a good writer." Noah knew that if he insisted, then Luke would agree. And once Luke agreed to something, he felt obligated to do it.

"I'll make you a deal. I'll think about writing again if you'll think about talking to Mason." Now it was Luke's turn to get Noah's agreement.

"Alright, it's a deal." Noah conceded. He already needed to talk to Mason to make amends as part of his therapy, but Luke didn't have to know that.

"When do you have to leave?"

"As soon as Reid gets back. He offered to give me a ride."

"I can't believe that you two are really getting along." Luke was happy that Reid and Noah could spend time together and not have to worry about one killing the other.

"Well, only where you are concerned. But since he's the one that got me here, he seems to feel obligated to help me get back." Of course Luke didn't know that since Reid had checked him out of the clinic, he had to be the one to sign him back in. Noah wasn't ready to tell Luke the reason why he didn't make it to LA or even know that he wasn't there.

"I hope the next time you visit it will be for a happier occasion."

"Is there such a thing with your life? Drama follows you where ever you go." Noah pointed out.

"Well, at least my life is not boring." Luke laughed along with Noah.

Meanwhile, Alex needed to find where Casey had run off to. If they were going to be working together, then they had to work things out between them.

"Casey, I would like a word with you." Alex caught up to Casey in the hallway outside of Reid office.

"Dude, I don't think that's a good idea right now." Casey couldn't believe that Alex followed him. He needed to get away from him, not spend any more time with him today.

"'We are going to be working with each other, and I don't want things to be strange between us, because I crossed a line back in Luke's room." Alex tried again. He was tired of the tension between them, even though he knew it was his fault that it was there to begin with.

"Whatever, I don't see why we have to do this now. I do have a shift to start." Casey still was not ready to talk to Alex.

"Not for another hour." Alex insisted.

"And how would you know that?" Casey couldn't figure out how Alex could know his schedule.

"Because you mentioned it while we were waiting to see Luke." Casey wanted to hit himself in the head for forgetting that he said that earlier.

"Fine, we can talk. Sooner we talk, the sooner you can leave." Casey did not even bother to hide how angry he was.

Alex took a deep breath before asking. "Can we go somewhere private? That way we don't get interrupted."

"The roof would be the best place." Casey mentioned the roof since he knew that no one ever went up anymore. Reid had put out the memo that hospital staff was no longer allowed to take breaks there. It had something to do about there being too many germs up there that could be brought back into the hospital. Now since he wasn't on duty yet, he should be able to get away with going up there and if not, he was planning on giving his notice anyway.

"Lead the way." Casey led Alex to the emergency stairwell at the end of the hall and they climbed the two flights of stairs to get to the roof.

"Well, we're here. What did you want to say?" Casey turned to face to Alex and had to take a step back because there was barely any room between the two of them.

"About earlier, I shouldn't have teased you about there being something between us. It is a flaw I have of acting before I think things completely through. It was just when HW made that comment about the only thing shocking him more would be if we were together. I just wanted to see that look on his face. But instead I got the shock when I accidently kissed you." Alex hated that he was attracted to Casey. Not because he was Luke's best friend, but because the last time he liked a straight man, it didn't work out very well.

"I don't believe it was an accident. I think you wanted to kiss me and used that as an excuse to get close enough to do it." Casey took a step closer to Alex. He noticed Alex's eyes looking at his lips before moving back to his eyes and knew that he had made his point.

"Why would you think that?" Alex was breathing a little heavy. As uncomfortable as he felt with Casey so close, he also didn't want to move away. It was sweet torture.

"I'm not blind, Alex. I've seen the way you have looked at me before the kiss. How you have looked at me since then as well. It is the same way you look at every guy I have ever seen you with. You're a player, and for some reason you have decided that you want to add a straight guy to that notch on your bed post. Well I won't be some novelty. And I'm not some toy to be played with."

"I guess I deserve that. But in my defense, I am honest with every guy I date that I am not looking for anything long term. That all I am looking for is a good time. And while we are together, I do give them my complete attention. There have only been a few cases where the other guy thought that he could change my mind .Those were the ones where the end did get kind of ugly. I've tried to hide my attraction for you because I didn't want you to feel uncomfortable around me. Not only are you Luke's best friend, but I would never force my attention on someone who would not appreciate it."

"It hasn't just been a couple of guys that did not like the way it ended. I have had to help Luke get rid of a lot of you conquests. They go to Luke to complain about you. Most usually just wanted your head handed to them. But there were some that wanted money to go away quietly. They thought that Luke would think that it would tarnish the Foundation's imagine if they went public that he had employed a gay playboy. And lastly there were some that tried to start something with Luke. They thought that they could convince Luke that they could rock his world if only he gave them a chance."

"My god. Luke never said anything to me." Alex felt like someone had punched him in the stomach. He never thought that his personal life would ever hurt Luke or the Foundation.

"Of course not. Luke always said that it was their choice to sleep with you. You could not be held to blame because it didn't work out." Casey could see the look on concern on Alex's face. He was glad that Alex finally knew that what he did in his private life did not only affect his private life.

"And that's why you don't like me so much. It's not because I like you." Alex wasn't sure how that made him feel.

"Hey, you got something right. And besides you could do so much better than those guys you pick up in the bars." Casey's concern was evident.

"Why do you care?" Alex felt hope that he had not ruined their friendship.

"I shouldn't care but … what the hell …. this is why." Casey whispered the last three words as he closed the gap between them. He leaned forward and captured Alex's mouth with his own. It took a moment for the shock to wear off, but once it did Alex was returning the kiss. He felt the thumb of Casey hand rub his cheek. Alex grabbed Casey's head with one hand and deepened the kiss. With his other hand, on Casey's hip, Alex pulled Casey closer to him. He never wanted the kiss to end.

Unknown to either guy, Allison had followed them up to the roof. She witnessed her ex-fiancé kissing the dark haired, blue-eyed taller man with far more passion then he had kissed her.


	13. Thanksgiving

_**I have started a new story called "When Lighting Strikes" and that will be Casey's story. While Casey and his story with Alex will still be a part of "What Really Happened", there will be additional details in "When Lighting Strikes" You can find the link to it by going to my profile page.  
**_

_**Now if you were curious as to what happened on the day of Luke's accident and also to what happened between Casey and Alex that caused them to not get along for very long in each other's presence then Chapter One of "When Lighting Strikes" will give you some answers. I hope you enjoy Casey's story and also the continuation of Luke and Reid's. **_

**CHAPTER 12 – Thanksgiving**

Luke woke up and smiled. It was Thanksgiving and he would be spending it with this family. The past few years have not been the best Thanksgivings for him. Last year Noah was blind, and the year before was after the election when he got kicked out of OU and the year before that was when he was in the wheelchair. But this year he had so much to be thankful for and it would be Reid's first with the Snyder clan. He was sure that his dad planed on introducing Reid to the Hubbard Squash and knowing Reid he would try to find a way to get out of cutting it up. Probably going so far as waving his hands in the air and saying "I have to protect them at all costs. How else am I going to save the world?" Then Reid would laugh and fight everyone off and show them how the top neurosurgeon in the world would do it.

Luke stretched and got out of bed wearing only his red boxers. He was not surprised that Reid was not still in bed. Even on the days when Reid didn't have to be at the hospital before the sun came up, he was still up early. The only times when Reid did sleep in were after the nights that they spent making love until 3 or 4 in the morning. Running his fingers through his hair, Luke walked out the bedroom and made his way downstairs to find Reid. If Luke had his way, they would soon be taking a shower together and start the day off right.

As Luke got closer to their office space in their home, Luke could hear Reid on the phone arguing with someone.

"I'm sorry but … yes, I know he just came back … of course I know what today is … Katie, I know you are upset…"

"Upset! You think this is me upset? Well you don't know women very well, do you?" Reid had pulled the phone away from his ear since Katie was being loud enough to burst his ear drum. Reid saw Luke enter the room and smiled at the vision of red in front of him. Seeing Luke freshly awakened was something that he had got very used to seeing every morning.

"Reid! How could you? How Luke puts up with you, I'll never know. You don't deserve anyone as good as him!" Reid was beginning to think that Luke had taken lessons on how to be a drama queen from his best friend Katie. She would not let him get a word in and all she was doing was getting more and more upset. Only difference is that he knew how to handle Luke, but Katie was a different story.

"Katie I said I was sorry … Katie, are you there?" Reid closed his phone. "Now why would she hang up on me?"

"What did you say to her?" Luke walked over to Reid. Leaned over to pick up his coffee mug and took a sip out of it. He brushed up against him in an attempt to put Reid's mind right where he wanted it. On him and the fun they could be sharing this morning.

"There was a Bus accident just outside of Oakdale and they are bringing in the victims to Memorial. I told her that I need Doogie to come in and help out in the ER." Reid was trying to ignore Luke's subtle attempts at seducing him. Course Luke knew how to make it difficult on a man and was perfectly able to pull out the big guns and attack his weak spots.

"No wonder she's upset. It's Thanksgiving and she was planning on spending it with Chris." This time Luke went to grab one of Reid's breakfast sandwiches, but Reid slapped his hand away.

"Well, if she wants to marry Doogie, which I still don't understand her attraction to him, then she needs to get used to a doctor's life." Reid took a bite out of his sandwich, an English muffin, eggs, cheese, bacon, and a sausage patty. He offered it to Luke in a way that made him have to bend over to take a bite out of it.

"Well, there are times when I want to just toss your pager out the window. It's like they wait until we are making love to page you. I have already spent too many nights frustrated. But right now, I could use a good scrubbing. Want to join me in a long, hot shower?" Luke moved so that he was now standing directly in front of Reid. With Reid sitting, his eyes were the perfect level to see that Luke's boxers were not exactly hanging flat. And while he never seemed to be able to get enough of Luke, this was going to be another time in their already long list of times that he had to turn Luke down.

"Luke did you not hear what I said? There was a bus accident. I have to go to the hospital." Reid used his 'is everybody in this town crazy' look to try to get his point across.

"Of course I heard you. You called Chris in to take care of it and Katie is mad at you. You will have to find a way to make it up to her. But for now we can enjoy our first Thanksgiving together. And I know the perfect way to start off the day." Luke straddled Reid and started placing light kisses on Reid neck.

"Luke, I have to go in. There were over 100 people on that bus, and most should only have minor injuries, but there were will be some that are going to need my skill." Reid had to grab Luke's hands to keep them from unbuttoning his shirt. Then Reid had to gently push Luke off of his lap so that he could stand up.

"Reid, you aren't seriously going to go in to the hospital on Thanksgiving?" Luke said in disbelief.

"Yes, Luke, I am. We've talked about this before. I'm a not just a doctor, I am also chief of staff. I know it's not easy being my boyfriend, but you are going to have to get used to that there will be holidays that are interrupted." Reid hated to see Luke so utterly disappointed, but he really had no choice. He was needed. First do no harm, that was part of the oath he took when he became a doctor. And not going into the hospital when there were so many that were hurt, would be doing harm. Reid just needed to find a way to make Luke understand.

"Yes, but this is our first Thanksgiving together." Luke insisted. Reid had to smile when he saw that the drama queen, aka Luke Snyder, was coming out. He loved that part of Luke. The passion that he had for all that he loved, whether it be a loved one or something to do with one of the Foundation's projects, it was one of the things that drew him to Luke in the first place.

"There will be other Thanksgivings." Reid tried to use logic to get through to Luke.

"But those future Thanksgivings are not our first. I had plans, Reid. Why does Thanksgiving always turn out bad for me? Do I have some invisible target that says 'I want a miserable Thanksgiving'? Why can't I spend Thanksgiving with the man I love? Is that really too much to ask?" Reid tried to interject a word in between, but Luke never came up for breath. He just kept going on and on. At last Luke slowed down and looked at Reid. "Well don't you have anything to say?"

"I'm sorry, but I have to go. I am a doctor and I couldn't forgive myself if I went with you to the Snyder Farm for Thanksgiving and someone died that I could have saved. And do you honestly want to be the one to tell someone's family that their family member died because you insisted that I spend our first Thanksgiving together?" He saw the look on Luke's face when it sunk in just how serious this was.

"No." Luke sounded defeated.

"So are you done being angry with me?" Reid didn't want to leave Luke while he was still angry, but he did need to hurry up and get to the hospital.

"Yeah, I guess. But this really sucks." Luke looked down, because he couldn't look at Reid after he had been behaving so selfishly.

"Yes it does. And you know something else?"

"What?"

Reid cupped Luke chin with his right hand and looked into those gorgeous brown eyes of his. "What I am thankful for this year is you. You have brought so much more meaning to my life then just medicine. I know you are here supporting me. On those days that never seem to end, I come home to you and you help all the stress fall away. I love you, Mr. Snyder."

"And I love you Dr. Oliver." Luke pulled Reid into a kiss and gave Reid a full smile when it was done. "Now go save the world."

"Case, are you sure?" Alex grinned from ear to ear. He tried so hard for fight his feelings for Casey, because he thought that Casey wouldn't feel the same about him.

"I'm sure. I've done nothing but think about it. I want to find out what this thing is between us." Casey was smiling too. Allison had made him see that there was nothing wrong with him. She thought that maybe the reason why all of his past relationships didn't last because they just weren't with the right person. Allison also had said that from how he talked about Alex and how much his face just lit up when talking about him, that the right person could actually be Alex.

"I want that too, I just didn't dare hope that you would give it a chance." Alex put his hand on Casey right cheek and gazed into his blue eyes. He had almost given up hope that he would ever be this happy again.

"Ahhh… there is just one thing and I don't think that you'll like it." Casey did not want to start things off with secrets between them, but he wasn't sure how Alex would take it. _'Hell, of course I know how he'll take it. He'll hate it and maybe even me. But if I don't say it now, before he kisses me, then I won't have the courage to tell him. That would only make everything worse.'_

"What?" Alex held his breath. From Casey's tone, he was afraid of what the younger man was going to say.

"I want to keep this between the two of us. Just until we figure out what we have going on." As Casey said the words, Alex's hand fell away from his cheek. He couldn't believe how empty he felt now that he lost Alex's touch. The happiness that had been on Alex's face disappeared in an instant and it was replaced by a deep hurt.

"You don't want your friends and family to know that you are dating me? You are ashamed that you have feelings for another man? So what am I supposed to be? Your dirty little secret?" Alex couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Alex, no that's not what I meant, I'm not ashamed. It's just that if we tell people, then it will become all about me coming out and there won't be time for you and me." Casey tried to get Alex to understand. He really wasn't ashamed. He just wanted this time in the beginning to just be about him and Alex. Not answering questions about why he waited until he was 25 before coming out or if he was sure that he was not going through a phase.

"That's just an excuse, Case and you know it. I can't date a guy stuck in the closet. I won't hide my feelings from our friends. If you can't handle that, then I guess we have nothing left to say."

"Alex, I'm only asking for a little time before telling everyone. And Allison …"

"I don't want to hear about your ex-girlfriend. I'm sure that if she hadn't have broken the engagement, you wouldn't even be here right now. You would still be hiding who you are behind her skirts. Just go Casey. Let me be." Casey hadn't realized how much what he needed would hurt Alex. He felt like his heart was breaking. Maybe the best thing was to give Alex the space that he was asking for.

"Alex, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. Really." Casey made a move towards Alex, but Alex stepped away from him. Casey fought to hold the tears back. When he arrived he had been so happy and excited, but now when he was leaving he felt worse then he ever had.

It hurt to watch Casey leave, but Alex knew that it would hurt even more if they started something and Casey never found the courage up to come out. He didn't do relationships because that is what happened in the last one he had. The guy he was dating was so far in the closet that he freaked out if anyone he knew saw them in the same room together. He had so many rules, but the biggest one was there was to be no touching in public, including holding hands while in the same car. It got to be too much to handle, and even though Alex loved him, he had to break it off when him. That day Alex promised himself that he would never put himself in that position again. He knew Casey was just scared, but Alex just couldn't risk his heart that way again.

After Reid had left for the hospital, Luke had come up with an idea that just might make this Thanksgiving a day to remember. In order to make it work, he would need to stop by the Foundation to set things up before heading out to the farm.

Luke had finally got the go ahead from Reid to get back to work this past week. Luke and Chris both started back to work at the same time. Of course it was easier for Chris to get the green light then it was for Luke. As Reid reminded him countless times, he almost died the night of the accident. Who knew that Reid could be so protective? Luke certainly didn't, but it felt good knowing that Reid was.

As Luke pulled into the parking lot, he noticed that he was not going to be the only one in the building. There were three other cars already in the lot. Casey's, Alex's and the other car must belong to the security offer that was on duty today. Casey was probably doing a random visit to make sure that the security officer was doing his job. Luke got out of his car as Casey came out of the building.

"Case, what's up? You know that you don't have to work on Thanksgiving." Luke caught up to Casey by his car.

"Oh, hey Luke. I'm not working, I just … ummm … left something here and thought I would just stop by and pick it up." Casey looked startled by Luke being there. It was like his mind was some where else.

"Oh, ok. Hey when you see Katie later, tell her we need to get together sometime and vent about the joys of being in a relationship with a doctor."

"What did Reid do now?" Casey sighed. Luke maybe in love with guy, but Reid was not an easy man to get along with.

"Just being the hero. There was a bus accident and he insisted that he had to go to the hospital to help out. He even called Chris in to help, and Katie let Reid have it over the phone. She wasn't even on speaker and I could hear her across the room. And Reid couldn't even understand why she was so upset." Luke shook his head at how clueless Reid could be at times. His skill in the operating room was surpassed by none, but his people skills still left a lot to be desired.

'That's Aunt Katie. I can't imagine what Reid is going to have to do to get back in her good graces. If I was her, I would make it something good." Casey actually laughed imagining Katie yelling at Reid. Reid intimated many, but he had never intimated Katie. From day one, she stood toe to toe with him and that was probably one of the big reasons they got so close.

"That reminds me, I still haven't had a chance to talk to Allison about why she broke up with you. I'll call her later and see if we can get together tomorrow."

"That's Ok, dude. Allison and I have talked and we're good." Casey remembering the look on Alex's face when he left thought. _'Yeah, Ali and I are good, I just wish that Alex and I were doing good.'_

"You got back together. That's great. Congratulations." Luke slapped Casey on the back of the shoulder. He was happy for his best friend.

"Ah… no, dude. We aren't back together. We talked and decided that we are better off just being friends." Casey tried to be upbeat, but his voice told a different story.

"Sorry, Case. I know how much you wanted it to work out this time." Looking at Casey, Luke knew there was something that Casey wasn't telling him.

"Hey, don't be sorry. I'm fine … really." Casey tried to reassure Luke, even though his expression showed that he was upset about something.

"Then why do you look like you wish the earth would just swallow you whole and put you out of your misery?"

"It's not about Allison." Luke looked like he didn't believe him. "I promise. It's not."

"Then talk to me, Case. Tell me what's wrong."

"I can't Luke. Not right now. I … ahh… got to go. We'll talk soon." Casey wanted to tell Luke everything, but he couldn't do it right now. He was hurting too much have to deal with not only coming out to Luke, but also to tell him that he screwed things up with of all people, Alex.

After Casey left, Luke couldn't help but feel like he failed his friend. It had been months since they had last talked about anything for longer than a few minutes. Luke really should have called Allison back when Casey first told him that they had broken up again. Maybe if he had, then Casey would feel like he could talk to him about what was bothering him. But after he got home from the hospital, Reid made him promise to take it easy. He did talk to Reid about Casey and Allison and Reid said not to worry that they would work things out on their own. And at the time it felt right to listen to Reid, but now he was sure that he did wrong thing.

Luke walked into the Foundation's reception area and saw Alex just standing by the window looking out over Oakdale. Alex was so deep in thought that he didn't hear Luke come into the office.

"Alex, what are you doing here?" Even from behind, Luke could tell something was wrong.

Alex was startled and when he turned around, Luke could see that there were tears on the other man's cheek. Luke gave him a hug. "What happened?"

"It's nothing." Alex tried to deny anything was wrong.

"You don't cry for nothing. And you know you can talk to me about anything." After Alex still didn't say anything, Luke added "I'm not going to let up until you tell me. You know how I am." Luke led Alex over to the couch and motioned for him to sit down. Luke held Alex's hand, hoping to give some comfort to his friend.

"I ahh … met a guy … and I hoped things would turn out differently … maybe even try an actual relationship … but he is still in the closet and I can't date someone that is afraid of being outed." Luke was surprised by Alex's confession. For as long as he had known Alex, he had never had a relationship and had said on many occasions that he didn't plan on ever settling down.

"Have you talked to him about that?"

"Yeah, just a little while ago as a matter of fact. When he first said that he wanted to be with me, I was ecstatic. Then he said that he didn't want anyone to know that we were dating. I …ahhh …kind of lost it then and told him to leave me be. Then after he left, I stood by the window over there and replayed the scene in my mind and wondered, 'Did I do the right thing?' What he said made some sense, about needing a little time, but I am afraid of history repeating itself. What if I just made the biggest mistake ever, by telling him to leave?"

Images of Alex and Casey together from the past few months flooded Luke's memory. The latest image of a devastated Casey that couldn't get away fast enough when Luke tried to get him to talk about what was wrong put an unlikely thought in Luke's mind. "Are you telling me that you are in love with Casey?"

"Yes I guess I am." Luke didn't even realize that he asked question, until Alex answered it.

"And he is in love with you?" An affirmative answer would explain some of Casey's recent behavior.

"That I don't know. All I know is that he was willing to find out what it is that is between us, but because he wouldn't tell you or his family, I wouldn't listen to anything else he had to say. And now he probably will never forgive me for telling you."

"I already knew there was something going on between the two of you; I just didn't put it all together until just now. I saw Casey as he was leaving and he was very upset. He said that he would talk to me soon about what was wrong. And then seeing you so devastated, it just clicked. I didn't see this coming from Casey and I can't believe that he didn't talk to me about this." Luke was still feeling stunned. He wasn't sure what had surprised him more, that his best friend was gay or that Alex was willing to give up being single for him.

"I don't think he even saw it coming either. He mentioned something about feeling like he had been struck by lightning the first time we kissed. And for your information, he kissed me, not the other way around." Alex wanted to make sure that Luke knew that he hadn't forced himself on Casey.

"I wasn't going to ask about that. How it happened is your business, but I am curious as to when that first kiss was." Luke ran his hand through his hair still trying to wrap his mind around the situation.

"The day of your accident. Casey came looking for me and in trying to get me out of Eden as fast as possible; he kissed me to show the other guys there that I was with him. It was a kiss I never expected and also one that had never felt so right. From that moment, I swear I tried to fight my feelings for him. However it didn't work. The more I saw him, the stronger the pull was. I thought of him all the time and it wasn't until just now when you asked if I was in love with him, that I realized that I am. If this was just some fling, then I could keep everything a secret like he asked me, but I fell for him and I want everyone to know. I don't want to hide my feelings for him."

"And here I thought Reid and I had a difficult time finding our way to each other. But somehow I think you and Casey will win that contest hands down. Anything I can do to help?"

"He needs someone to talk to. If he doesn't open up to you, then tell him I told you. Having someone to help him through this time is more important then any anger he might have towards me for telling you." At that moment, Alex was more worried about how Casey was doing then about how only a few minutes ago he was worried that he had lost any chance that he ever had with Casey.

"I don't think that it will come down to that, but if it does, I'll just ask him directly like I did you. He'll be too shocked that I guessed to worry about if you had already confirmed it. I love you both and hope that it all works out. Now since you are here, I need your help. And it just might take your mind off of Casey." Luke smiled as he thought about how different this day was turning out to be then what he thought it would be. This Thanksgiving was going to be very special and one that even Reid would not be able to forget.

At the Snyder Farm, Luke walked to the kitchen and the first person he saw was his Grandma Emma closing the oven and taking off the oven mitts. There were so many memories of his with her here in the kitchen. From baking cookies when he was little to the big family feasts like Thanksgiving. "Grandma, how are you?" Luke gave Emma Snyder a hug. She placed her hands on both sides of his face and kissed his cheek.

"It's good to see you. You are looking well. Where is that man of yours? I had to bake an entire extra turkey just for him." When the door opened, Emma looked expecting to see Reid, but instead it was Alex Thorne. She gave Luke a questioning look. She did not understand why Luke had brought a man other than Reid to the family Thanksgiving.

"Reid can't make it, Grandma. I ran into Alex at the Foundation and asked him for some help today." As Luke explained what happened to Reid and what he wanted to do, Emma just smiled and nodded, agreeing with everything.

"Always knew you were a good boy, but you have turned into a great man. What do you need me to do?" Family was everything to Emma and she was happiest when she could help one of the children or grandchildren. And this request of Luke's would be a great way to celebrate Thanksgiving.

"Alex will stay to help you out, while I go arrange everything else. I still have a couple more stops to make. Do you think everything can be ready by 4pm?" Luke sounded a little worried that there wasn't enough time to get everything done.

"Well its 10 now, so yes, I can be ready by 4. I'll see you later then."

"Yes Grandma, and thanks."

"Give your grandma a kiss and get on with you. You have got your work cut out for you and I have a lot of work to do." Luke kissed Emma on the cheek and was out the door. His mind was already on his next stop.

Luke looked at his watch and saw that it was almost 4pm. There was just one more thing to do and that was to find Reid. He figured that the best place to find him would be around the ER. If he wasn't there then Luke would get a nurse to help find him. Luke walked into the hospital and each waiting room that he passed was just full of people. The family members of the accident victims must have made it to Oakdale. He smiled and was proud of how Reid was running the hospital and that they could handle helping so many people. He might even have fallen just a little bit more in love with him at that moment when he realized just how much Reid had sacrificed over the years so that he would be capable of helping so many people.

It was then that he saw Reid. He was surrounded by nurses and doctors. The case he was discussing must not be too bad, because the nurses weren't crying and he wasn't yelling at the doctors or telling them how much of an idiot they were. Reid must have spotted him, because his face lit up and a silly grin popped up on his face. He left all of the nurses and doctors behind as he went up to Luke. Before Luke could say anything, Reid's lips were on his and Reid's hands were on his face. Never one to deny himself from something that he wanted, Luke kissed him back. Luke's hands went to Reid's waist pulling him closer. When the kiss ended, Luke looked into Reid eyes and knew there was something wrong.

"What was that for?"

"Life's too short sometimes." Reid didn't say anything else. He didn't have to. Luke knew that Reid must have lost one of the accident victims. A moment later, he just took Luke's hand and led him to the doctor's lounge. Reid sat down in one of the chairs. Instead on sitting next to him, Luke just sat down on Reid's right knee and put his arms around him. Luke hoped to make Reid smile, but instead he felt Reid start to shake.

"Shh baby. I'm here now … It'll be alright." Luke held Reid to him with his chin on top of Reid's head. He rocked a little to help calm his love down. It wasn't like Reid to breakdown and Luke was glad that could be here for him. When Reid pulled away, Luke looked down at him and then gave him a soft gentle kiss. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I beat the first of the ambulances and was here when the second helicopter arrived. I'm not sure how Marge Hopkins managed it, but she was still conscious. Her injuries were very severe. She had broken ribs that punctured a lung, a torn spleen and liver. She didn't really care about what was wrong with her. She just kept asking if the boy was ok. I told her that I would find out after I took care of her. We were just barely keeping up with her blood loss with the transfusion." Reid became lost in the memory of this morning.

"_Dr. Oliver. There is a young woman with a little boy asking about your patient. Do you want to see them?" Mrs. Hopkins had made it clear that she would not agree to surgery until she knew more about this mysterious boy. Maybe this was the boy in question. _

"_Take me to them." _

_Reid left the room with the nurse. He left his patient in the hands of an intern and a nurse. If Reid had been a praying man, he would have prayed that it wasn't too late and he could still save her. The nurse introduced him to Kara Lansing. She was a girl that couldn't have been more than 18 and a two year old little boy._

"_Doctor Oliver, is Mrs. Hopkins going to be ok? She was sitting in the row behind me and this morning when Bobby woke up and wouldn't go back to sleep, she offered to watch him and let me sleep some more. She said that she remembered how hard it was to be a mother alone on a long trip. And that he reminded her of her grandson that she was going to visit. I thought nothing bad could happen on a bus with so many other people around that I agreed. When I woke up, the bus had been in the accident. I found her wrapped around Bobby protecting him. She saved his life and I don't know how to thank her." The girl was crying now and was hugging little Bobby to her. _

"_She was injured pretty bad and needs surgery, but she won't let us operate until she knows that little Bobby here is alright. Do you think that you can bring him in to see her so that she can see that he is fine for herself?" Reid thought about just grabbing the kid and taking him in there even if the mother didn't agree. Mrs. Hopkins' time was running out. _

"_Of course, anything I can do for her. I can't even imagine what would have happened if she hadn't been there." Reid wasted no time and brought them to the room. _

"_Look who I found in the waiting room. Bobby and his mother were just waiting to find out about you. As you can see he is doing just fine." Reid gave one of his big smiles. While anyone who knew Reid could see that he was trying a little too hard to be nice, he managed to make it believable for his patient. _

_The woman in the bed smiled and reached out the take Kara's hand. "I'm glad that Bobby is alright. Thank you for bringing him in to see me. Doctor, I'll agree to the surgery now."_

"_I don't know how to thank you for saving my son's life."_

"_Just love him, sweetie. Knowing that he is ok is all the thanks I need." _

"_Miss, I need you leave so we can get her prepped for surgery. Someone will let you know when she is out of surgery and you can visit then." _

"_Alright. We will be back later. Thank you again." The girl said over her shoulder as Reid rushed Kara and Bobby out the door. It was time to get to work and save this woman. That was when Marge Hopkins' heart gave out. Reid tried over and over to shock her heart back into beating, but it wasn't to be. With her goal met in knowing she had saved the little boy, her will to hold on was gone. Reid felt like he had let her down. He should have just taken her into surgery when she first got there. Then she might still have been alive. He hated to loose. _

When Reid was finished telling Luke about his first patient of the day, Luke was at a loss for words. The woman that in protecting another woman's son lost her own life because of it was heartbreaking. There were even tears in his eyes.

"I'm so sorry baby. I know much you hate to loose someone."

"Well at least we have managed to save everyone else. Even the driver of the bus, and I wasn't so sure about him when I first saw him. Now as happy as I am to see you, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at Thanksgiving dinner with your family?"

"I wasn't enjoying myself, so they kicked me out and told me not to come back until after I saw you. So here I am."

"They didn't by any chance send food with you?" Reid asked causally, but he couldn't hide from Luke just how much he hopped that there was some of Emma Snyder's cooking close by. Reid just wished that her skills in the kitchen had rubbed off a little more on her grandson, but then again no one is perfect.

"As a matter of fact they did. Just come with me for a minute and then you can have the food." Luke was happy that he was there. Reid needed him and now Luke would be able to take his mind off the morning.

"I'll follow you anywhere when you promise me food." Reid winked at Luke. Luke blushed because he knew how true that statement was. Luke grabbed Reid's hand and pulled him after him.

To Reid surprise the entire Snyder clan was gathered in the cafeteria. "What is this?"

"Well, I thought if Reid can't come to the food, then the food must come to him. Happy Thanksgiving, Baby." Luke kissed Reid, but it was only a quick kiss. Reid was distracted by how much food there was.

"There's enough food to feed a small army."

"Or one Reid Oliver." Luke smiled at his boyfriend. Reid's appetite and his ability to put away lots of food in one sitting was already legendary around Oakdale.

"Luke thought about how much he missed having you for Thanksgiving and that it was a shame that everyone who was working would miss Thanksgiving with their families, so he decided to bring Thanksgiving here for everyone." Emma told Reid right before she hugged and kissed him.

"I think that this would be a great beginning for a new family tradition, our family tradition, Reid. We can hold a big celebration here at the hospital on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Give something back to everyone who has to work so hard to keep our loved ones safe. I never realized how much doctors and nurses sacrifice by having to work holidays until you told me this morning that you had to be here. I love you Reid Oliver."

"I love you too Luke Snyder."


End file.
